Weekend Report: operators criticised for research tax credits in Australia, McGregor banks €7m in betting winnings

Australia government mulls changes to research tax credits in gambling industry

First this week, the Australian government could change the rules for gambling and betting operators that want to receive government research tax concessions. This comes after it emerged they claimed almost AU$90 million (£45.8 million/€54.9 million/US$59.5 million) in one year.

According to the Guardian, figures from the Australian Tax Office show four major gambling companies claimed $86.5 million in credits between them in 2021-22. These include Tabcorp, which received $39.5 million, Aristocrat with $22.2 million, Ainsworth Game Technology at $15 million and PointsBet $10 million.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has now raised the prospect of stripping gambling operators of their access to the concessions. He said the government may look to change the rules.

“I have a personal view about that, which is that it’s problematic,” Chalmers said. “When some of that information was released not that long ago, that’s the sort of issue that warrants our attention. And it will receive our attention.”

Aristocrat appoints Tucker to replace Hill as legal chief

Meanwhile, Aristocrat has announced a change to its management team. Anne Tucker is to take on the role of chief legal officer after Chris Hill retired from the position.

Tucker, who will report directly to CEO Trevor Croker, will also continue in her current capacity as company secretary.

Tucker brings more than 20 years of legal and governance experience to the role. This includes her most recent role as deputy chief legal officer at Aristocrat.

Tucker’s earlier career includes spells in senior global legal and company secretary roles with Corporate Travel Management, Tatts Group and UNiTAB.

Tabcorp loses Wong as general counsel

Also making management changes is SkyCity Entertainment Group. The operator revealed that its general counsel and company secretary Jo Wong has resigned and will step down from 22 January 2025.

Wong has worked in both positions for the past eight years, having previously served as deputy to the two roles. Prior to this, she worked in several corporate roles for Hanover Group.

SkyCity did not disclose the reasons behind Wong’s departure.

“Jo has been a valuable member of the senior leadership team,” SkyCity chief executive Jason Walbridge said. “She has led SkyCity’s legal, company secretarial, and regulatory affairs functions through a very complex and challenging period over recent years, demonstrating strong leadership and resilience.”

Denmark’s Spillemyndigheden honoured for regulatory campaign

Over to Europe now and Denmark’s gambling regulator Spillemyndigheden has picked up an international award for a social media campaign.

Spillemyndigheden won the ‘Best Regulatory Campaign” award at the recent International Association of Gaming Regulators conference. The association features over 80 gaming authorities from around the world.

The ‘One-Armed Thief’ campaign focused on the consequences associated with minors engaging in online gambling. Issued by a jury from the global association, the award was handed out during a ceremony in Rome, Italy.

“I am incredibly proud and happy that we have won this award,” Spillemyndigheden director Anders Dorph said. “It is a very special recognition and honour that our colleagues from all over the world have chosen our campaign.”

McGregor wins big on sports betting

And finally this week, following up on recent news that Conor McGregor lost $500,000 on a bet, the MMA star boasted this weekend that he has won more than €7 million from betting so far this year.

Posting on X, formerly Twitter, McGregor said he is up by around €7.7 million in 2024, according to the Irish Mirror. He won big on Spain winning Euro 2024, Argentina Copa America, and Carlos Alcaraz winning tennis’s Wimbledon.

However, it has not all been plain sailing for McGregor. On top of his recent losing bet on Renan Ferreira to beat Francis Ngannou in an MMA bout, he lost €63,000 on a Golden Boot bet at Euro 2024.

In the same X post, McGregor warned about the dangers of gambling, saying he is “playing on profits”, allowing him to take more risks.