The night an alleged $26m gambling fraudster partied with Sportsbet’s CEO
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A video shows Sydney accountant Ben Carter and Sportsbet chief executive officer Barni Evans arm-in-arm and belting out Daft Punk’s hit One More Time in a Darwin nightclub. It was minutes after midnight, hours after the final race of the 2022 Darwin Cup.
Sportsbet had flown Carter up to watch the race. Just one year later, he was arrested over an alleged $26 million fraud to fund his “lavish lifestyle”.
A still from a video purporting to show Ben Carter (left) and Sportsbet CEO Barni Evans (right) dancing in Darwin in early August 2022.
The video offers a glimpse of the relationship between Carter and Sportsbet, as Carter alleges the betting giant courted him as a high roller and allowed him to gamble tens of millions while aware of his “red flag behaviours” and “insufficient means”.
Sportsbet says the “brief interaction” between Carter and Evans at the Darwin nightclub was one of many with VIPs.
Carter was arrested in July by the NSW Police anti-bikie squad Raptor and accused of fraud totalling $26 million. He’s accused of defrauding clients through his firm, Carters Tax Advisory, and through other business dealings including his role as chief financial officer for brewery Drink West, which is part-owned by star Penrith halfback Nathan Cleary and UFC fighters Tai “Bam Bam” Tuivasa and Tyson Pedro.
Federal Labor MP Peta Murphy, the chair of Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs, said the case was emblematic of how wagering service providers target customers with inducements. She led a parliamentary inquiry into online gambling in 2022.
“The evidence of the way online wagering service providers use inducements to encourage people to bet more and more – too often well beyond their means – is irrefutable,” Murphy said on Wednesday.
“The harm this can, and does, cause led my committee to recommend a ban on the use of inducements and the imposition of a duty of care on online wagering service providers.”
Carter, 36, rose to prominence by partnering his firm with the Penrith Panthers NRL team and through slick social media.
His lawyer Nick Hanna told Penrith Local Court this month that his client was a “pathological” gambling addict, effectively destitute and suing Sportsbet in the Federal Court in a separate civil action.
Rugby league star Nathan Cleary and UFC fighters Tai Tuivasa and Tyson Pedro are shareholders in Drink West.
The Federal Court civil documents, filed by Carter while he sits in prison on remand and obtained by the Herald, allege he placed $70 million in bets between August 2021 and January 2023.
Hanna told the court the amount Carter actually defrauded was only about $6 million, much lower than the alleged $26 million. The rest of the millions were actually from Sportsbet matching Carter in dollar-for-dollar wagers and bonuses, the lawyer told the court.
Carter alleges Sportsbet knew that he was showing “red flag behaviours” as early as October 2021.
Sportsbet will defend against the allegations made by Carter.
Carter’s Tax Advisory rose to prominence partnering with businesses including the Penrith Panthers. Credit: Suppplied
Carter transferred Sportsbet nearly $4.5 million between April 2021 and October 2021 via 2440 deposits, the court documents say. The accountant claims he lost $859,344 in that period.
Sportsbet, in October 2021, issued a “source of wealth request” to Carter which included his bank statements, payslips and property records, documents say.
Carter allegedly told Sportsbet he co-owned a $1.5 million house at Caddens, a newly minted suburb outside Penrith, and cars and boats valued at about $250,000.
The accountant alleges those documents proved to Sportsbet he had “insufficient means” to fund his gambling or bear the losses he had sustained until that point.
‘[Carter] gambled in a manner that was characterised by … behaviours of the type exhibited by persons with a gambling addiction.’
“[Carter] gambled in a manner that was characterised by ‘red flag’ behaviours of the type exhibited by persons with a gambling addiction,” his lawsuit says.
Sportsbet allegedly undertook a second review of Carter’s finances in July 2022, the court filings say.
This time Carter told Sportsbet his Caddens home was worth $1.9 million and that he held shares in Drink West worth $1.2 million, along with shares in two more companies totalling $400,000.
Carter alleges the July 2022 documents again proved to Sportsbet he did not have the money to support his gambling habit since the last review.
Carter and his partner and receptionist Amy Steele, who is accused of concealing his alleged crime.Credit: Facebook
Late that same month Sportsbet flew Carter to the Darwin Cup where he socialised with Evans at the Darwin nightclub, the accountant’s lawsuit claims.
The video shows Carter and Evans dancing and singing purportedly at 12.18am on August 2, 2022, at Darwin’s Mayberry club hours after the horse Playoffs won the Darwin Cup.
The pair sing along to the music as Carter blows a kiss and Evans ducks away after a few seconds, when the recording ends.
A source close to Sportsbet, not permitted to speak publicly, told the Herald that Carter was just one of many people who mixed with Evans during the evening.
Sportsbet controls a large part of the wagering market in Australia.
“This was a very brief interaction, similar to hundreds of others during the week,” the source said.
Carter’s lawsuit alleges Sportsbet offered him many such “inducements” by flying him around Australia to gamble despite them being aware of his financial shortfalls from October 2021.
Among the list of 2022 inducements, alleged in the documents, were flights and accommodation to the Magic Millions on the Gold Coast, State of Origin and grand final rugby league matches in Sydney, and the Melbourne Cup.
Sportsbet, according to Carter’s filings, controls about 42 per cent of Australia’s gambling market and, in 2016, told a Senate inquiry it had a responsibility to help customers stay in control of their wagering.
Carter alleges the wagering company did not impose a deposit limit on his account, encourage him to self-exclude or seek support nor “provide a safe environment… where the harm associated with problem gambling was minimised”.
The accountant said he lost $5 million while suffering a “special disadvantage”, his uncontrollable urge to gamble, and he claims Sportsbet exploited it.
He is seeking damages, interest and costs.
Sportsbet declined to respond to the specific allegations contained within Carter’s court documents.
“It’s not appropriate for us to comment, other than to confirm that we are defending these civil proceedings and will file our response in accordance with the timeline set by the court,” a spokesman said.
“Sportsbet recognises its responsibility to customers and the community and to the continuous improvement of our policies and procedures.”
Documents from the criminal case against Carter allege he was acting as Drink West’s chief financial officer when he allegedly stole $400,000 from an investor who intended to buy shares.
The brewer cut ties with Carter in July 2022, the same month he was flown to Darwin, but the reason is unknown.
Nick Carter also allegedly went to the Magic Millions in 2022 thanks to Sportsbet.Credit: Getty
Police this month alleged Carter defrauded at least eight clients, locals and small businesses, to fund his “lavish lifestyle and gambling habit”.
Carter’s partner, Amy Steele, 25, was also charged by NSW Police earlier this month. Steele was charged with recklessly dealing with the proceeds of crime, which were greater than $5000, and granted conditional bail because she is pregnant.
Detectives will allege Steele tried to conceal Carter’s fraud.
The criminal case against Carter alleges 16 offences including 14 counts of dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception, knowingly dealing with proceeds of crime and possessing a few grams of cocaine.
Carter is expected to contest the criminal charges and apply for bail before his next scheduled court date in September.
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