Australian Horse Racing and the Government Bribery Scandal
Author:
Jacob McKenzie
The Australian Horse Racing industry is currently under investigation by an independent judiciary for supposedly accepting bribes from government officials. For years, horse racing has maintained a successful status in Australia, becoming the country’s most popular live sporting event alongside cricket. It even overshadows rugby, football, and many others for the most-watched spectator events of the year. In a live setting, horse racing is one of the most exhilarating events for crowds of people to enjoy, however with this latest scandal, and the industry is likely to suffer because of government officials actions.
The Australian government have been accused of giving preferential treatment to the horse race betting industry after accusations of bribery surfaced via a whistle-blower. Horse racing is one of the country’s most popular sports, and gambling is commonly associated with live events. ?pattyjansen/Pixabay
One of the main problems with the recent spree of live horse racing events is that they’re one of the only spectator sports allowed to return in Australia. Football, Rugby, and Cricket are all prevented from housing crowds of fans during matches, and this has raised concerns over the interests of government officials. They argue that this decision is unfair to other national sports that have suffered heavy financial losses due to the continuing repercussions of COVID-19. This doesn’t even scratch the surface of this case.
Another major complaint is gambling agencies funding political organizations. Donations to parties have skyrocketed in the last year, totaling $520,000 since the end of 2020. The clear problem of favorability has left many public officials baffled by the decisions of other MP’s and lawmakers. Data analysts confirmed the numbers in a new government report detailing the extensive political funding received from gambling agencies over the last decade. Considering only $10,000 in donations occurred in 2011, the motivation to lobby political parties has increased.
In the last decade, political parties have made almost $3 million in donations from betting organizations, which begs why they are giving them money in the first place. The public is deservedly outraged, and several media firms are covering the story as a headliner. The amount of attention it received on social media was unprecedented for a niche corporate sector like the Australian horse racing betting industry. As of the publication of this article, there has been no public address from the government on the matter.
There’s no denying the shadiness of the whole scandal so far, kept very well under wraps by government officials because of fears of public backlash; they’ve managed to conceal their agreement for years now. Horse racing agencies make up most of the funding, and this is undoubtedly connected to the government reopening their venues sooner than other sporting events such as cricket and rugby. It’s also spread across numerous parties, making the ordeal convoluted and entangled in corruption and fraudulent activity.
Why Donate to Political Parties?
The obvious benefit of donating to political parties is a veil of protection from lawmakers, and during a turbulent time such as COVID-19, government intervention can be extremely frustrating for small and large businesses alike. To ensure horse racing could continue, agencies formed a group to continuously fund political parties in order to get away with holding live events during a pandemic while others remain restricted. A lack of justice and decency means that many other sporting sectors will suffer due to the mad reopening of live horse racing.
One name almost always associated with scandal and controversy are Crown Resorts, one of Australia’s most infamous casinos businesses. A ring of loan sharks was arrested on Crown property, causing even more damage to their already deeply bruised reputation. Not only them but BetEasy, Sportsbet and Tabcorp all made significant donations to Australian political parties, generating an aura of suspicion around the government and Australia’s online betting industry.
