Australia's Northern Territory Racing and Wagering Commission (NTRWC) is facing increasing scrutiny as local media, organisations and individuals have begun questioning whether the regulator is too close to the gambling industry.
The regulator licenses more than 40 bookmakers, including Sportsbet, Ladbrokes and Bet365, and oversees an annual turnover of AU$50bn (US$33bn).
However, reports indicate that the regulator is not operating as expected.
The reports claim the regulator only meets once a month, has no full-time staff and published its last annual report 32 years ago - in 1993.
In a recent interview, Chairman Alastair Shields admitted to accepting hospitality from bookmakers, as well as being part of an active syndicate that owned racehorses.
When the regulator was established under the 1983 Racing and Betting Act, racehorse owners were banned from becoming commissioners due to the conflict of interest.
When Shields was appointed to the commission in 2018, this clause was no longer active.
The final talking point is the lack of disciplinary action from the regulator.
It seems unclear if the NTRWC has ever revoked or suspended a licence, which would be expected from a country that has spent the last few years cracking down on gambling-related crime as much as Australia has.
Out of the past 10 Commissioners, six of them have owned racehorses
