One of Australia’s best-known bookmakers faces allegations that he took bets and offered inducements to a customer who requested that his account be permanently closed. [Image: Shutterstock.com

Waterhouse in hot water

Robbie Waterhouse, one of the leading figures of the Australian betting industry, appeared in court on Monday over allegations his company breached gambling regulations.

the customer had already requested that his account be closed”

Waterhouse is accused of offering one bettor incentives to make additional deposits, as well as accepting additional bets, after the customer had already requested that his account be closed.

Waterhouse denied the charges, but the magistrate in charge of the case, Gemma Slack-Smith, has been relocated and will not be able to make a decision until November 15 in what has already been a long-running case.

Customer chat logs revealed

Liquor and Gaming NSW, the state regulator, claims that a RobWaterhouse.com employee accepted six bets from a customer who had requested that his account be closed on May 14, 2022. 

customer threatened to take his business elsewhere after having a no-deposit bonus request denied”

Waterhouse’s lawyer, Rob Ranken, showed chat logs between the bettor and the customer support team, revealing that the customer threatened to take his business elsewhere after having a no-deposit bonus request denied. 

However, the customer was then allegedly offered an inducement of AUD$1,000 (US$664) deposit match bonus to reopen his account – a potential breach of regulations if it took place after the request to close the account, something Ranken questioned.

The regulator also claims that the account was not permanently closed after the request, but merely suspended. In total, Waterhouse faces eleven charges – five of offering incitements to a person to not close a betting account and six of accepting new bets after a request to close a betting account, all of which he pleaded not guilty to.

Waterhouse’s past controversies

Waterhouse is a well-known figure in Australia and followed his father, Sydney bookmaker Bill Waterhouse, into the trade. He is also married to Gai Waterhouse, a renowned thoroughbred horse trainer.

Both he and his father have previously been embroiled in controversy, most notably in 1984 for the infamous Fine Cotton affair, a substitution scam in a horse race where the perpetrators resorted to applying white paint to disguise the thoroughbred’s identity. 

Both Waterhouses received lengthy bans for the incident and a warning-off from racetracks for 14 years. In 2001, after his ban was lifted, Robbie Waterhouse successfully reapplied for a license.

If found guilty of the charges, Waterhouse faces a potential fine of up to AUD$121,000 (US$80,322.)