A major Australian bookmaker has been accused of generating more than half of its gambling profits from just 20 customers in January.
The accusation was made to the Australian Stock Exchange by the gambling company Pointsbet, which is resisting a hostile takeover bid by rival company Betr, which was previously partly owned by News Corporation.
On Wednesday, Pointsbet’s directors rejected Betr’s offer and encouraged shareholders to instead accept a competing bid from the Japanese company Mixi.
During early states of negotiations, Pointsbet and Betr agreed to conduct due diligence and share financial and operational details.
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After assessing that information, Pointsbet told the ASX that Betr had a “less valuable and volatile VIP heavy customer base” and that shareholders would be exposed to Betr’s existing operations if the bid were accepted.
In April, Betr was reported as having about 340,000 customers. About 150,000 were considered active. Pointsbet alleges that more than 50% of Betr’s net win in January came from a tiny percentage of that customer base.
Betr and Pointsbet were both contacted for comment.
Both companies declined to clarify whether the January 2025 figures cited by Pointsbet were representatives of Betr’s longer term financial and operational position. Pointsbet declined to state whether the January figures were an outlier.
In its note to the ASX, Pointsbet told shareholders there were “meaningful risks associated with a VIP-heavy customer base” including greater “compliance and regulatory risks”.
In May, Pointsbet was fined $500,800 by the Australian media regulator and subjected to enforceable undertakings after breaching spam and self-exclusion laws.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority accused Pointsbet of sending 508 marketing messages to people who had self-excluded themselves from gambling.
Two years ago, a landmark report by an inquiry led by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy said gambling companies maintained “VIP programs to incentivise people they regard as high-value customers.”
Financial Counselling Australia, which represents people who have been harmed by the gambling industry, told the inquiry that high-value customers are often individually managed by bookmaker staff and encouraged to keep gambling. The group did not name Betr in its submission.
The Murphy inquiry also recommended the federal government ban all gambling advertising after a three-year transition period. So far, the federal government is yet to formally respond to that recommendation.
The Albanese’s government’s plan to restrict gambling advertising was delayed until after the election in the face of strong opposition from sporting codes and broadcasters.
On Wednesday, the communications minister, Annika Wells, told parliament the government had resumed consultation with broadcasters, major sporting groups and some harm reduction advocates.
“I know the minister for social services [Tanya Plibersek] and myself have been working together on this and we are committed to continuing the work of the previous ministers from the first term,” Wells told question time.
So far, sources familiar with the consultation say it has focused on identifying the main objections and testing support for compromises. They say the government intends to act by the end of the year.
Wells did not commit to implementing Murphy’s recommendation to phase out all advertising for online gambling, but said “the work continues” on the government’s agenda to address gambling harms.
Lobbyists for major gambling firms have also been seen in Parliament House this week.
