WA’s state-owned gambling agency targets customers with promotions to maintain profits

The state-owned WA Tab targeted gamblers with promotions in order to maintain it’s profits. Photograph: Tero Vesalainen/Getty Images/iStockphoto

A gambling agency owned by the Western Australian government targeted customers with promotions to maintain its “strong margins”, despite a federal inquiry calling for them to be banned without delay, due to community harm.

WA is the last state to still own a gambling agency, the WA Tab, which is managed on its behalf by Racing and Wagering Western Australia (RWWA). All gambling profits are returned the state’s racing industry, although taxes are still paid to the state government.