The company of Australian bookmaker Tom Waterhouse has been pleased to find out that the gambling regulatory body of New South Wales dropped the claims of illegal betting ads faced by Mr Waterhouse.
At the beginning of the week, the Liquor and Gaming NSW announced a decision to withdraw 14 charges of a gambling advert’s illegal publishing that were laid against Tom Waterhouse in 2020 and 2021. The issue had been scheduled to progress to a contested court hearing on October 10th.
A spokesperson for the Liquor and Gaming NSW revealed that issues linked to evidence that had been presented to the court had eventually resulted in the prosecutor advising that the charges against Mr Waterhouse should be withdrawn because of the unlikelihood of a successful prosecution. The original allegations have not been previously detailed by the regulatory body.
The defendant’s lawyer, Richard Keegan, said that Tom Waterhouse Punting Pty Ltd did not want to make any commentary other than that the company was pleased with the outcome and the court’s decision.
Tom Waterhouse’s Father Also Facing Allegations of Offering Illegal Enticements to Australian Punters
Last year, the popular bookmaker Tom Waterhouse faced accusations of offering unlawful incentives to gamblers, after his father was set to go to court for the same charges. At the time, it was revealed that he would face 14 charges of illegally offering enticements or inducements to gamblers online. At the end of January, it became clear that he could have faced monetary penalties worth more than AU$150,000 if found guilty.
The revelations were made after the father of Tom Waterhouse – Robbie Waterhouse – was due to appear in court in February 2021, after facing five charges of illegally publishing gambling adverts on his website.
The father and son operate their own separate online businesses, with Tom Waterhouse selling racing data and tips to gamblers, while his father is accepting sports wagers through his bookmaking website.
According to reports, Tom Waterhouse violated the gambling advertising conditions in the state of New South Wales (NSW) by offering inducements to punters to encourage them to place their wagers with his father’s online betting platform. Allegedly, punters were offered a credit worth AU$50 for Robbie Waterhouse’s website in case their horse failed to win.
The 67-year-old Robbie Waterhouse has faced a maximum fine worth AU$55,000 after he allegedly posted a banner on his online gambling platform, sent e-mails to players in June 2020, and published a Tweet in an attempt to “boost” customers’ numbers.
At the time, the gambling regulatory body of the state – the Liquor and Gaming NSW – claimed that the Tweet published by Robbie Waterhouse in August 2020 was an unlawful incentive sent to consumers. Under the provisions of the NSW’s Betting and Racing Act, it is illegal for gambling operators to offer punters an enticement to take part in or frequently take part in any gambling activity.
- Author
Daniel Williams
