Australia’s gambling self-exclusion register operator has rejected conflict-of-interest concerns over a director’s links to wagering businesses, as the company seeks fresh funding amid mounting debt and an overdue tax bill.
Dataworks maintains the BetStop register, which allows people experiencing gambling problems to have their betting accounts closed and prevents operators from opening new accounts or sending them marketing.
One of its directors, Ian Penrose, is also senior independent director of Playtech, a UK gambling technology company that supplies software to online casino and wagering operators. He is vice-chairman of Weatherbys, which provides real-time horse-racing data ultimately used by betting companies to offer wagers and set odds.
Adam Glezer, who runs the advocacy business Consumer Champion, said Penrose’s simultaneous roles raised concerns because Dataworks has only three directors.
“There are only three people on Dataworks’ board of directors, and one of them also sits on the board of a company that profits when people keep gambling,” he said. “That’s not a minor interest, that’s a third of the whole board.”
“If their excuse is that he’s there for his industry knowledge, that doesn’t wash. He’s worn both hats for close to five years,” Glezer added.
A Dataworks spokesman defended Penrose’s non-executive positions, saying his “extensive experience across regulated gaming, technology and corporate governance” benefited the company and the development of player-protection technology.
The spokesman said Penrose had told Playtech he would step down by 31 December. He also said Weatherbys primarily supplied its real-time data technology to sporting governing bodies, which then sold access to the data feeds to wagering companies.
“Dataworks has appropriate governance processes for identifying and managing any actual or potential conflicts involving its directors,” the spokesman said.
Dataworks seeks $4.24 million
The dispute comes as the ASX-listed company attempts to raise $4.24 million. Dataworks said the fundraising would include money to repay a $1.5 million loan carrying 18 per cent interest and settle $2.4 million in overdue income tax withheld by the Australian Taxation Office.
In a preliminary annual financial report, the company warned that without the capital there was “a material uncertainty that may cast significant doubt as to whether the Company will continue as a going concern”.
Dataworks also operates Ontario’s self-exclusion register. It has a market value of $14.4 million and said operating revenue rose by 24 per cent in the past financial year, while its statutory loss fell by 78 per cent to $2.25 million.
The company said it had received firm commitments for $3 million of the proposed fundraising. Its spokesman said it would be incomplete to describe the capital raising as being solely for the repayment of the loan and tax debts, adding that it was intended to strengthen the balance sheet and support the next stage of growth.
Dataworks declined to say whether it had warned the Australian government about any risk to its ability to continue maintaining BetStop if the business failed.
“At no point has Dataworks assessed its financial position as presenting a risk to continuity of service, and it does not consider such a risk exists today,” the spokesman said.
Dataworks took over the BetStop contract after the register’s original operator, Big Village, entered voluntary administration before its launch in 2023.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority, which regulates online gambling and oversees BetStop, said it remained in regular contact with Dataworks about its performance against its contractual obligations.
“The ACMA has undertaken extensive due diligence in appointing Dataworks to operate the register. This included consideration of any actual, potential or perceived conflicts of interest,” an ACMA spokesman said.
The regulator said it continued to manage the contract through established governance and assurance arrangements, and referred to a December review which found BetStop was performing in line with expectations.
A spokesman for communications minister Anika Wells said the government expected the ACMA to continue working with the operator to ensure the register supported people who needed it.
