Former NRL star Luke Bateman has admitted he once worked for a bookmaker and handed out bonus bets after failing to disclose the role during his explosive evidence to a Senate inquiry.
Bateman, 31, emerged as a prominent voice against the wagering industry this week after alleging gambling company employees offered to arrange illicit drugs while cultivating him as a high-value punter.
However, it has since emerged that the former Canberra Raiders forward spent six months working as a business development manager for the now-defunct Southern Cross Bet in 2020.
Bateman did not mention the role when he appeared before the inquiry into gambling advertising reform on Monday.
He also did not tell independent senator David Pocock, who strongly supported Bateman and promoted his evidence publicly.
Pocock said he had been unaware of Bateman’s employment with the bookmaker but rejected suggestions the former footballer had deliberately misled the inquiry.
Bateman did not disclose his six-month Southern Cross Bet role while criticising wagering practices in Parliament on Monday
‘It seems like this disclosure now, after the Senate committee hearing, reinforces the weight of his testimony, speaking of his lived experience,’ Pocock said.
‘I don’t believe that Luke sought to hide or mislead our inquiry; I think he provided very honest, compelling testimony about the enormous harm gambling and addiction can cause, and I applaud him for speaking out.’
Bateman confirmed his former role after records emerged showing he had worked for Southern Cross Bet following his retirement from rugby league.
‘Whenever new customers signed up, [the job] was, like, contacting them and say, “Hey, welcome to Southern Cross Bet, and whatever you need, let us know”,’ Bateman told the Australian Financial Review.
He said the role included offering customers deposit matches, also known as bonus bets, and helping resolve problems with their accounts.
A social media post from August 2020 also showed Bateman hosting a Southern Cross Bet customer function at Eagle Farm Racecourse.
‘What a great day for Southern Cross Bet and the latest member of our team, Luke Bateman,’ the post read.
‘Luke held our first customer function today at Eagle Farm racecourse and it was a great success.
Bateman pictured with staff from the now-defunct betting company Southern Cross Bet
‘The former Canberra Raider did a fantastic job and looks better suited in this role (as an account manager) than tackling the likes of Jason Taumalolo.’
Southern Cross Bet’s former principal Mark Johnstone declined to comment when approached about Bateman’s employment.
Asked whether he should have declared the position before or during the inquiry, Bateman gave a mixed response.
‘Yes and no,’ he said.
‘I was more commenting around the [industry] culture.
‘I didn’t say that companies shouldn’t be allowed to have VIP managers; I said that the predatory nature of inducements should be taken away.
‘It’s not about persecuting, naming or singling out companies and individuals or anything like that. What I want is just protection and care for vulnerable young men.’
Bateman said Southern Cross Bet had been ‘much more well-behaved’ than other betting companies he dealt with, although he did not identify those operators.
A company post showed Bateman hosting Southern Cross Bet’s first customer function at Eagle Farm Racecourse in 2020
He said he accepted the position while still battling the gambling addiction that had developed during his NRL career.
‘I had just come out of the NRL, and I was still deep in my gambling addiction,’ he said.
‘I had no direction whatsoever, and that was just like the first job that popped up.’
The revelation came days after Bateman told senators that wagering industry account managers had allegedly offered to obtain illicit drugs for him before interstate events.
‘The week of the event, they’d sort of send you a message and be like, ‘Hey mate, you know, do you want any … drugs on the weekend?’ he said.
‘If you’re going to Melbourne, they’re like, ‘Hey mate … if you need a couple of bags, let us know and we’ll have it organised for you and we’ll get it to you.’
Bateman acknowledged those alleged offers were not made in an official capacity by the wagering companies.
He claimed they were intended to strengthen his relationship with account managers and keep him gambling through their businesses.
Bateman estimated gambling cost him about $1million and left him carrying approximately $250,000 in debt before entering rehabilitation
‘That obviously came with the expectation that then I would continue to gamble with their company specifically and nobody else,’ he said.
‘Creating a sense of trust, creating a sense of friendship, absolutely came with the underlying desire to make sure that you lost all of your money with them.’
Bateman also alleged he attended a gathering at a Gold Coast rental property where senior figures from an unidentified gambling company took drugs.
‘The entire sort of C-suite of the company was there, all management team, administration, and they were all sort of in the back room doing drugs together, and I was in this room doing drugs with all of them,’ he said.
‘This is like the CEO, the founders, the VIP managers, and you know at that stage I would have been a 23-year-old.’
When Pocock asked whether senior company figures knew about the alleged behaviour, Bateman replied: ‘Not only did they know, they were participating in it.’
Bateman has estimated that gambling cost him about $1million and left him with debts of approximately $250,000.
He entered rehabilitation in 2020 after his addiction reached a point where he said he could no longer afford groceries despite earning as much as $400,000 a year as an NRL player.
The former forward played 71 first-grade matches for Canberra between 2015 and 2019 before a serious knee injury ended his career.
Public hearings for the Senate inquiry concluded on Tuesday. The Greens are seeking a complete ban on gambling advertising across television, radio, print and social media.
