Hooked, page 37
17 S Thomas, MC van Schalkwyk, M Daube, H Pitt, D McGee & M McKee, ‘Protecting children and young people from contemporary marketing for gambling’, Health Promotion International, vol. 38, 2023, pp. 1–14.
18 Sydney Morning Herald, 10 February 2023.
19 Age, 22 August 2017.
20 Sydney Morning Herald, 11 October 2019.
21 M Dapin, ‘Running hard on the people’s diet’, Sydney Morning Herald, 23 June 2012.
22 Greek Herald, 6 November 2024.
23 M Gordon, ‘Demetriou: Breaking the code’, Age, 19 March 2005.
24 S Lane, ‘The man who would be the king of the AFL’, Age, 30 April 2014.
25 M Warner, The Boys’ Club: Power, Politics and the AFL, Hachette, Sydney, 2021, p. 5.
26 Warner 2021.
27 Warner 2021.
28 Sydney Morning Herald, 12 March 2022.
29 Economist, 9 August 2024.
30 AdNews, 16 May 2016.
31 Venture Advisory, 8 July 2020.
32 ABC News, 7 September 2022.
33 Australian Financial Review, 26 February 2023.
34 Australian Financial Review, 26 June 2024.
35 E Minter, ‘Big Four banks still lending money to gamblers’, Pearls and Irritations, 29 December 2022.
36 Financial Counselling Australia, Submission to the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, 2018.
37 M Walsh, ‘Money and the punt: How the AFL Players’ Association educates players about problem gambling’, ESPN, 21 May 2021.
38 Sydney Morning Herald, 22 June 2005.
39 Courier-Mail, 8 June 2019.
40 Walsh 2021.
41 Sydney Morning Herald, 1 June 2025.
42 Financial Counselling Australia 2022.
43 Guardian, 7 December 2023.
44 Alliance for Gambling Reform, ‘Fed Govt must strengthen limp NT online gambling laws – New NT laws fail to protect communities from rapacious foreign operators’, MediaNet, 1 March 2024.
45 Interview with a professional gambler, March 2025.
46 Daily Telegraph, 6 March 2018.
47 Sydney Morning Herald, 10 June 2016.
48 Mumbrella, 10 February 2022.
49 Vixio, 10 November 2021.
50 Interview with a professional gambler, March 2025.
51 Responsible Wagering Australia, ‘Taxes and product fees effect the growth and viability of Australia’s wagering, sport and racing industries’, n.d., 2024.
52 Sportsbet, Submission to the Senate Inquiry into the Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill, 2016.
53 J Osborn, ‘A history of who owns Sportsbet in Australia’, Manofmany, 7 August 2023.
54 Australian Financial Review, 13 November 2023.
55 Age, 9 February 2023.
56 Crikey, 8 August 2024.
57 Australian Financial Review, 23 November 2023.
58 7.30, ABC TV, 13 November 2023.
59 G Monbiot, ‘Trump voters want a revolution. It’s time for progressives to offer their own’, Guardian, 8 November 2024.
60 Crikey, 12 December 2016.
61 Michael West Media, ‘Stephen Conroy’, n.d.,
62 Sydney Morning Herald, 1 September 2019.
63 R Mizen, ‘Meet the lobbyists aiming to keep the gambling dollars rolling in’, Australian Financial Review, 21 July 2024.
64 Interview with a professional gambler, March 2025.
65 Interview with a professional gambler, March 2025.
66 Interview with a professional gambler, March 2025.
67 Interview with a professional gambler, March 2025.
68 The Straight, 12 March 2025.
69 Interview with a professional gambler, March 2025.
70 Interview with Charles Livingstone, December 2024.
71 R Epstein, ‘The human cost of the sports betting boom’, Men’s Health, 22 August 2023.
72 E Li, M Browne, E Langham, H Thorne & M Rockloff, ‘Implicit associations between gambling and sport’, Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, Melbourne, 2018.
73 R Jenkinson, C de Lacey-Vawdon & M Carroll, ‘Weighing up the odds: Young men, sports and betting’, Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, 2018, p. 31.
74 Jenkinson et al. 2018.
75 Jenkinson et al. 2018, p. 56.
76 Interview with a professional gambler, March 2025.
77 Interview with a professional gambler, March 2025.
78 Interview with a professional gambler, March 2025.
79 ABC News, 13 February 2025.
80 Marie Claire, 31 July 2023.
81 R Irving, ‘9 out of 10 Australian sports bettors are men. Here’s why that might change’, Conversation, 4 January 2025.
82 Australian Communications and Media Authority, Gambling Advertising in Australia: Consumer and Advertising Placement Research, 2019.
83 Alcohol and Drug Foundation, ‘The problem with alcohol advertising in Australia’, 7 September 2023.
84 H Pitt, S McCarthy, A Rintoul & S Thomas, The Receptivity of Young People to Gambling Marketing Strategies on Social Media Platforms, Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, Melbourne, 2022.
85 J Friedman, ‘Big stakeholders hold all the cards as gambling bleeds us dry’, LSJ Online, 19 September 2023.
86 J Torrance, B John, J Greville, M O’Hanrahan, N Davies & G Roderique-Davies, ‘Emergent gambling advertising: A rapid review of marketing content, delivery and structural features’, BMC Public Health, vol. 21, no. 718, 2021.
87 ABC News, 19 April 2023.
88 G Henry, ‘Marketing vs propaganda’, appsalon, 10 May 2024.
89 Gambling Ad Network, ‘Advertise your gambling business on the internet: Expert strategies’, Medium, 23 October 2023.
90 Guardian, 10 May 2023.
91 K Browning, ‘Gambling, pranks, lucrative contracts: Inside livestreaming site Kick’, Australian Financial Review, 4 December 2023.
92 ABC News, 12 December 2024.
93 ABC News, 3 October 2024.
94 News.com.au, 31 March 2015.
95 L Levin, ‘The dark side behind Australia’s infatuation with gambling’, New Daily, 8 November 2023.
96 Alliance for Gambling Reform 2024.
97 Sydney Morning Herald, 3 August 2023.
98 ABC News, 11 December 2022.
99 ABC News, 20 July 2024.
100 Financial Counselling Australia, media release, 21 February 2024.
101 S Cannane, ‘How BetStop, the Albanese government’s self-exclusion scheme for wagering, failed an addicted gambler’, ABC News, 24 September 2024.
102 Background Briefing, ABC Radio, 14 October 2015.
103 E Lawrence, ‘Loaded dice’, Courier-Mail, 3 October 2015.
104 ShareMyPicks, ‘My experience with a gambling company and how they handle “VIP” clients’, Reddit, 22 June 2023,
105 Financial Counselling Australia 2022.
106 Interview with a professional gambler, March 2025.
107 Jenkinson et al. 2018, p. 50.
108 Financial Counselling Australia 2022.
109 ABC News, 6 December 2019.
110 Breakfast, ABC Radio National, 25 September 2024.
111 Sportsbet 2016.
112 R Rossi & A Narin, ‘New developments in gambling marketing: The rise of social media ads and its effect on youth’, Current Addiction Reports, vol. 9, 2022, pp. 385–91.
113 Interview with Tim Costello, February 2025.
114 H Pitt, S Thomas, A Bestman, M Daube & J Derevensky, ‘What do children observe and learn from televised sports betting advertisements? A qualitative study among Australian children’, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, vol. 41, no. 49, 2017.
115 Pitt et al. 2022.
116 Guardian, 3 December 2024.
117 N Hing, M Rockloff & M Browne, Submission to the Inquiry into Online Gambling and Its Impacts on Those Experiencing Gambling Harm, 2023.
118 AAP News, 5 December 2022.
119 Guardian, 4 October 2023.
10: Running for their lives
1 Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds, ‘Report: Night of horror at Million Dollar Chase’, 27 October 2023,
2 Although the focus here is on greyhounds, it’s important to acknowledge the existence of parallel animal welfare issues in the horse racing industry. It deserves its own separate examination, which is beyond the scope of this book.
3 Animals Australia, ‘Understanding the background of greyhound racing’, n.d.,
4 MJ Gibson, KA Legg, EK Gee, A Smet, J Medd, C McMullen, L Auld & CW Rogers, ‘Incidence and risk factors for limb fracture in greyhound racing in Western Australia’, Australian Veterinary Journal, vol. 102, no. 11, 2024, pp. 543–49.
5 ‘Making a Killing’, Four Corners, ABC TV, 16 February 2015.
6 Australian Racing Greyhound, 10 March 2021.
7 Racenet, 21 December 2022.
8 Greyhound Recorder, 6 July 2021.
9 B Keene, ‘ “Feel-good” greyhound story disguises an industry indifferent to overbreeding’, Crikey, 12 July 2023.
10 M Atkinson & K Young, ‘Reservoir dogs: Greyhound racing, mimesis and sports-related violence’, International Review for the Sociology of Sport, vol. 40, no. 3, 2005, pp. 335–56.
11 A perusal of Trove’s digital newspapers for the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s revealed dozens of cases of rabbits, cats and puppies being used as live baits.
12 CBS News, 26 July 2020.
13 Greyhound Racing New South Wales, Submission to the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into Greyhound Racing, 2013.
14 Newcastle Herald, 20 August 1998.
15 Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds, ‘Australia – world’s largest commercial greyhound racing industry’, n.d.,
16 B Teague, ‘Tabcorp – Good, bad or mostly indifferent?’, Australian Racing Greyhound, 5 September 2011.
17 Racenet, 20 December 2014.
18 Australian Financial Review, 20 March 2021.
19 M McHugh, Special Commission of Inquiry into the Greyhound Racing Industry in New South Wales, State of NSW through the Special Commission of Inquiry into the Greyhound Racing Industry in New South Wales, 16 June 2016, p. 14.
20 ‘Making a Killing’, Four Corners, ABC TV, 16 February 2015.
21 Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds, ‘Industry marketing to communities’, n.d.,
22 Interview with a professional gambler, January 2025. The gambler’s name was forwarded to me by a greyhound welfare agency. The gambler concerned had become disillusioned with the way the greyhound industry operated and offered his services to agencies campaigning against the industry. He preferred to remain anonymous to protect his links to the gambling industry.
23 Interview with a professional gambler, January 2025.
24 Interview with a professional gambler, January 2025.
25 Interview with a professional gambler, January 2025.
26 Australian Racing Greyhound, 12 October 2021.
27 Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds, ‘Australia – world’s largest commercial greyhound racing industry’.
28 On the legal status of greyhound racing, see A McEwan & K Skandakumar, ‘The welfare of greyhounds in Australian racing: Has the industry run its course?’, Animal Protection Law Journal, December 2011, and Law Society of NSW Young Lawyers Animal Law Committee, Submission to the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into Greyhound Racing, 2013.
29 Law Society of NSW Young Lawyers Animal Law Committee, Submission to the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into Greyhound Racing, 2013.
30 E Gibson, Submission to the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into Greyhound Racing, 2013.
31 Gibson 2013.
32 Sydney Morning Herald, 11 August 2012
33 Gibson 2013.
34 Sydney Morning Herald, 18 February 2015.
35 RSPCA 2013.
36 Legislative Council of New South Wales, Select Committee on Greyhound Racing, 2014, p. xi.
37 Legislative Council Select Committee 2014, p. 93.
38 Legislative Council Select Committee 2014, p. 93.
39 ‘Making a Killing’, 2015.
40 Brisbane Times, 30 August 2016.
41 RSPCA, ‘Greyhound trainer avoids jail after being charged with 15 counts of animal cruelty’, 7 September 2016,
42 J Power, ‘Michael McHugh: The man who let the dogs out’, Sydney Morning Herald, 8 July 2016.
43 J Kaye, Dissenting statements, Legislative Council Select Committee, 2014, p. 182.
44 M McHugh, Special Commission of Inquiry into the Greyhound Racing Industry in New South Wales, State of NSW through the Special Commission of Inquiry into the Greyhound Racing Industry in New South Wales, 16 June 2016, p. 18.
45 Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds, ‘Public opinion – Australians do not support greyhound racing’, n.d.,
46 Australian, 14 June 2016.
47 M Robin, ‘How Alan Jones and the tabloid media heavied Mike Baird over greyhounds’, Crikey, 12 October 2016.
48 RSPCA, ‘Two out of three people in NSW and the ACT support the ban on greyhound racing’, 8 October 2016.
49 Herald Sun, 21 May 2022.
50 Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds, ‘Stopping sponsors’, n.d.,
51 Daily Telegraph, 20 January 2023.
52 Greyhound Recorder, 21 December 2021.
53 Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds, ‘2020 track deaths and injuries’, n.d.,
54 ABC News, 23 October 2023.
55 I’ve seen a copy of the email; see also The Guardian, 27 August 2003.
56 H Ritchie, ‘Dying for sport: Abuse claims rock Australian greyhound racing’, BBC, 18 July 2024; The Guardian, 13 July 2024.
11: High rollers, private jets and bags of cash
1 A Simpson, ‘Crown Sydney casino opens – another beacon for criminals’, Conversation, 8 August 2022.
2 Cited in Livingstone 2021.
3 S Long, ‘How gambling authorities missed Crown’s criminal ties’, ABC News, 29 November 2020.
4 Sydney Morning Herald, 7 February 2016.
5 Long 2020.
6 P Croft & H Rijiswik, Submission to the Royal Commission into the Casino Operator and License, 2022.
7 N McKenzie & R Harris, ‘Fast track for visa high rollers’, Age, 11 February 2020.
8 Australian Financial Review, October 2016.
9 Beresford 2023.
10 N McKenzie & J Tozer, ‘Dirty dealings of cleanskin casino: Exclusive’, Sydney Morning Herald, 11 October 2021.
11 Colin Kruger, writing in WA Today, 12 February 2025.
12 Australian Financial Review, 17 May 2014.
13 Time, 3 November 2022.
14 Z Zeng & D Forrest, ‘High rollers from China: A profile based on 99 cases’, UNLV Gaming Research and Review Journal, vol. 13, no. 1, 2009, pp. 29–43.
15 Economist, 5 December 2022.
16 P Bergin, Report of the Inquiry under Section 143 of the Casino Control Act 1992 NSW, 2021, vol. 1, p. 67.
17 K Dovkants ‘Jamie Packer: The polo playboy’, Tatler, 6 May 2014.
18 Beresford 2023.
19 Cited in Beresford 2023, p. 319.
20 Bergin 2021, p. 242.
21 ‘High Rollers – High Risk?’, Four Corners, ABC TV, 15 September 2014.
22 H McDonald, ‘Enter the dragon’, Sydney Morning Herald, 19 March 2005.
23 Parliamentary Joint Committee, ‘Asian organised crime in Australia’, discussion paper, 1995.
24 Beresford 2023.
25 Cited in McDonald 2005.
26 Daily Telegraph, 7 November 2020.
27 R Finkelstein, Royal Commission into the Casino Operator and Licence, 2021, p. 147.
28 D Kitney, ‘The Crown affair’, Australian Institute of Company Directors, 1 April 2022.
29 Australian Financial Review, 3 March 2022.
30 Submission 0004.0013.0001 to the Finkelstein Inquiry, 2021.
31 Beresford 2023.
32 J Thomson, ‘How Packer didn’t get his own way’, Australian Financial Review, 9 October 2020.
33 Australian Financial Review, 17 October 2020.
34 Finkelstein 2021, p. 99.
35 Interview with Stephen Mayne, October 2022.
36 Australian, 8 October 2020.
37 News.com.au, 20 May 2021.
38 Finkelstein 2021.
39 For the circumstances around the arrests, see Beresford 2023, Chapter 12.
40 Bergin 2021, pp. 515–16.
41 Crikey, 5 March 2020.
42 Sydney Morning Herald, 7 February 2020.
43 Age, 7 February 2020.
44 C Schmidt, ‘Australian casinos linked to triad gangs’, playstlfest.com, 14 March 2021.
45 Crikey, 5 March 2020.
46 AUSTRAC 2021, p. 130.
47 N McKenzie, N Toscano & G Tobin, ‘Crown’s unsavory business links: How Australia’s casino got tied up with criminals’, The Age, 28 July 2019.
48 Age, 7 February 2020.
49 N McKenzie & F Hunter, ‘Crims, casinos and communists: Junket mogul’s downfall’, Sydney Morning Herald, 14 December 2021; S Zhao & J Hong, ‘Ex-Suncity boss Alvin Chau jailed for 18 years in Macau’, Sydney Morning Herald, 18 January 2023.
50 McKenzie & Hunter 2021.
51 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Casinos, Money Laundering, Underground Banking and Transnational Organised Crime in East and South East Asia: A Hidden and Accelerating Threat, 2024.
52 Bergin 2021; Beresford 2023.
53 Everything.Explained.Today, ‘14K (triad) explained’, n.d.,
54 AUSTRAC 2022, p. 216.
55 Sydney Morning Herald, 3 August 2020.
