News Maker – Poker machines accounted for 60% ($9.8 billion) of the $16.3 billion spent by Australians on gambling in the 12 months to March 2014, well ahead of race betting and lotteries according to the latest results from the Roy Morgan Gambling Monitor. Australians spent $2.5 billion on race betting and $1.7 billion on lotteries, or 15% and 10% of the annual gambling spend respectively. The other forms of gambling make up the remaining 15% — including sports betting ($0.9 billion or 5%), casino table games ($0.6 billion or 4%), Keno ($0.5 billion or 3%), and scratch tickets ($0.3…

Forbes – Already investing billions in the housing market down under, China’s real estate developers are preparing to go head to head with Australia’s home-grown gaming giants, including a company run by its richest man, to build casinos in the heart of one of the country’s largest cities. The winner of the bidding process will get the chance to develop a six-star multi-billion dollar casino project at Queen’s Wharf in Brisbane, the largest city in Queensland state, and the right to profit from the boom in Chinese visitors and their love for gambling. Shanghai government-backed developer Greenland Group, which already…

Australian Gambling – Gambling on company devices at your office could now see your boss in a whole world of financial trouble. Companies could now be fined more than $1 million for breaching safety standards if proven liable for workplace gambling under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. A business that supplies laptops, smart phones, computers or tablets without a gambling policy or an attempt to block the sites could even be up for criminal convictions. The issue has been raised this week by responsible gambling foundation spokespeople ahead of Responsible Gambling Awareness Week. Holding Redlich senior associate and workplace…

Euro Sport – Australia’s National Rugby League will investigate allegations that one of its top officials knew about Canterbury Bulldogs forward Ryan Tandy’s gambling problems but failed to take action before the player was convicted of match-fixing. Tandy, banned from the NRL for life after attempting to fix a 2010 match, was found dead last week at his parents’ house in eastern New South Wales state having suffered an apparent drug overdose. State media reported this week that the NRL’s head of football Todd Greenberg was made aware of Tandy’s gambling problems when he was chief executive of the Sydney-based…

BBC – Billionaire James Packer and David Gyngell were cited for “offensive behaviour”, which carries a fine of A$500 ($467, £276) if uncontested. Police had launched an investigation into the incident on Sunday although no official complaint was filed. The cause of the brawl between the two friends still remains unclear. “Police today issued a 46-year-old man and a 48-year-old man with a Criminal Infringement Notice for offensive behaviour,” the New South Wales police statement said, without identifying the men by name. The brawl has been widely reported in Australian media, with photos reportedly selling for a six-figure sum. Photographs…

Sri Lanka will not oppose the casino planned for a $400 million mixed-use resort being developed by Australia’s Crown Casinos if it is operated using an existing license held by a local partner, a top government official said on Thursday. The government’s latest stance on casinos is contrary to what it said on April 25 when Australian gambling tycoon James Packer’s Crown project was approved by the country’s parliament. At that time the government said no casino would be allowed in the resort. Opponents of casinos believe they will lead to a boom in prostitution and damage religious values and…