Former rugby league player Luke Bateman has told a Senate inquiry that gambling company promoters gave him cocaine and alcohol to build a relationship with him. A parliamentary probe into gambling harm has been hearing allegations of widespread misconduct in the industry.

Bateman, now a TikTok influencer, gave evidence to the Senate's inquiry into gambling on August 3, 2026 (Sporting News, ABC News). He alleged that gambling company employees unofficially offered him illicit drugs to cultivate a relationship with him (ABC News).

Bateman told the inquiry he went to a private event hosted by a gambling company on a Gold Coast canal property. He said senior company figures took illicit drugs with clients at the event, when he was about 23 (The Guardian). He estimated he lost about $1 million to his gambling addiction. He was earning $400,000 a year but had no money, with his losses leaving him more than $250,000 in debt.

The former NRL player said VIP account managers at gambling companies sent him personalised offers like 'bonus bets' to keep him betting. He was flown interstate and taken to race days with alcohol and food provided. Bateman told the inquiry the betting industry showed no duty of care and called on the Albanese government to go further in its plans to limit gambling advertising.

Anti-gambling campaigner Tim Costello made separate allegations to the same hearing. He said TAB, Sportsbet and Sydney's Star Casino offered a problem gambler drugs, escorts and free accommodation (The Guardian). Costello said this person was the TAB's and Sportsbet's biggest customer, given $50,000 in bonus bets and flown to grand finals. The person's betting turnover was more than $20 million a month. The individual is detained in Sydney's Silverwater prison facing charges.

These allegations come before a parliament that has been struggling to pass gambling reform. In November 2023, the House of Representatives considered amendments to a gambling bill proposed by the member for Banks (Parliament of Australia). A record from 6 February 2024 shows Deputy Speaker Ms Chesters adjourning that debate and ordering it to resume at the next sitting (Parliament of Australia). More recently, a record from 5 March 2026 includes statements by Luke MP (Gosling) about gambling advertising (Parliament of Australia).

The broader context here is a parliament where gambling reform keeps getting talked about but never quite gets over the line. The Banks amendments and the stalled debate in early 2024 show how this issue has dragged on under successive governments. The pattern is familiar to anyone watching Canberra: MPs talk tough, debates get delayed, and industry lobbying keeps things largely as they are. What Bateman and Costello have done is put specific allegations about how gambling companies treat their biggest clients directly on the parliamentary record. Whether that actually pushes the government and crossbench to act, or just becomes another line in a parliamentary transcript, is the question now.

The difference between the two sets of allegations matters. Bateman is talking about his own experience as a VIP client. Costello's claims about TAB, Sportsbet and Star Casino are about a third party who is now in custody. Both paint a picture of an industry whose treatment of its biggest spenders goes well beyond free snacks and a day at the races. Costello named specific companies and cited huge betting figures, which puts those companies squarely in the frame. The question for regulators like AUSTRAC and state gambling commissions is whether they pick up these allegations, now that they are on the parliamentary record, or leave them to the inquiry process.

Bateman's call for tougher gambling advertising rules lines up with what MPs like Gosling have been pushing in the House. The government's existing plans to limit gambling ads are already being negotiated with the crossbench. The testimony from Bateman and Costello gives those pushing for stricter rules some powerful new facts to use in those discussions.