{"id":359350,"date":"2025-11-06T08:01:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T08:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/359350\/"},"modified":"2025-11-06T08:01:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T08:01:10","slug":"australias-de-facto-online-gambling-regulator-stops-accepting-gifts-from-betting-companies-for-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/359350\/","title":{"rendered":"Australia’s de facto online gambling regulator stops accepting gifts from betting companies, for now"},"content":{"rendered":"

Commissioners at Australia’s de facto online gambling regulator will stop accepting gifts from betting companies, at least for now.<\/p>\n

The announcement comes six months after the ABC first reported the Northern Territory Racing and Wagering Commission (NTRWC) chair had accepted corporate hospitality from bookmakers.<\/a><\/p>\n

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Chair Alastair Shields on Thursday said NTRWC commissioners had “ceased accepting hospitality invitations”.<\/p>\n

He also said the commission was “developing a draft code of conduct to reinforce ethical standards”.<\/p>\n

“The commission operates under strong integrity and oversight frameworks, including the Racing and Wagering Act 2024 and the NT government board handbook,” Mr Shields said.<\/p>\n

“The draft code of conduct, which is currently being finalised, builds on these frameworks and provides clear guidance for commissioners.<\/p>\n

“The commission has ceased accepting hospitality invitations, and the code will set out the formal framework for managing any hospitality in future to ensure independence and transparency.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

The NTRWC is based in Darwin. (ABC News: Matt Garrick)<\/p>\n

The home of Australia’s gambling industry<\/p>\n

The NTRWC has become Australia’s default regulator for online wagering, due to 43 betting companies being licensed in the Northern Territory.<\/p>\n

The bookmakers call the NT home due to its low taxes and what critics say is weak regulation.<\/p>\n

In April, Mr Shields told the ABC he had accepted tickets to the Darwin Cup<\/a> from gambling companies he regulates.<\/p>\n

Four Corners then revealed further industry links<\/a> involving current and former NTRWC commissioners, with six of the last 10 commissioners owning race horses.<\/p>\n

The part-time watchdog for Australia\u2019s $50 billion betting industry <\/a><\/p>\n

Four Corners has uncovered allegations of conflicts of interest and pro-industry bias at the country’s part-time regulator responsible for Australia’s biggest betting companies.<\/p>\n

The program uncovered evidence of lengthy delays in dealing with complaints, and heard the commission was as useless as a “chocolate teapot”.<\/p>\n

Following the Four Corners program, the NT government claimed that “oversight and integrity frameworks at the commission were strengthened earlier this year and remain under review”.<\/p>\n

The ABC subsequently asked the government to back up the claim on October 6.<\/p>\n

Repeated requests for the government to prove its claims were not answered for a month.<\/a><\/p>\n

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But on Thursday, Mr Shields released a statement saying the commission was developing its code of conduct.<\/p>\n

He said it wouldn’t include a ban on racehorse ownership.<\/p>\n

“Ownership of racehorses is permitted under the act, but any conflicts are declared, recorded and managed through disclosure and recusal,” he said.<\/p>\n

“All declarations form part of the official government record to ensure transparency.”<\/p>\n

Five simple questions on gambling the NT government won’t answer<\/a><\/p>\n

Three weeks after an ABC investigation raised allegations against the NT’s gambling commission, the government is staying silent on what’s being done \u2013 if anything.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the NT Department of Tourism and Hospitality said its review into the commission was ongoing.<\/p>\n

“[It] will have a focus on management of conflicts of interest, gifts and benefits and eligibility requirements for commission members,” they said.<\/p>\n

“An overview of key findings will be made available to the public in the new year.”<\/p>\n

The NT’s Racing Minister Marie-Clare Boothby last month refused requests to establish a parliamentary inquiry<\/a> into laws that govern the NTRWC.<\/p>\n

Independent NT politician Justine Davis has since called for an independent inquiry to be established<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Commissioners at Australia’s de facto online gambling regulator will stop accepting gifts from betting companies, at least for…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":359351,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[136729,16759,174802,174808,210,517,13263,174803,174805,174804,9663,174807,174806,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-359350","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-conflict-of-interest","9":"tag-gambling","10":"tag-gambling-companies","11":"tag-gambling-conflict-of-interest","12":"tag-health","13":"tag-mental-health","14":"tag-nt","15":"tag-nt-gambling","16":"tag-nt-racing","17":"tag-nt-racing-and-wagering-commission","18":"tag-online-gambling","19":"tag-regulators-accepting-gifts","20":"tag-sportsbet","21":"tag-united-states","22":"tag-unitedstates","23":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115501707455559990","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=359350"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359350\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/359351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=359350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=359350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=359350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}