Did any of the 5 main proxy advisers in the
Australian market - ACSI, ASA, Ownership Matters, Glass Lewis and ISS -
recommend a vote against any of today's resolutions? Which of the proxy
advisers are covering us and has their been a material proxy protest vote
against any of today's resolutions? Will you disclose the proxy votes before
the debate on today's resolutions so shareholders can ask questions if there
have been any protest votes?
Given the interesting discussions across a
range of topics that are likely to unfold today and the inability to hold a
physical AGMs, could the chair undertake to make an archived copy of the
webcast plus a full transcript of proceedings available on the company's
website. Nine Entertainment chairman Peter Costello, who appreciates the
benefit of a parliamentary hansard transcript where MPs don't have to scroll
through old videos to find out what was said, made this change earlier this
month & had a full transcript of Nine's AGM online before the end of the
day. Can we match that time frame?
Did Mastercard have any ethical concerns
about partnering with Betmakers and EML Payments to launch the global "Bookies
Card". To what extent, if at all, does this card facilitate the
provision of gambling industry credit and are there are money laundering risks.
Has AUSTRAC signed off on this product and who are our biggest competitors in
this space?
Aristocrat has offered $5 billion for UK
listed gambling software company Playtech and already two other rival bidders
have emerged. Please comment on whether Betmakers has any common features to
Playtech and whether we anticipate also potentially being the subject of
takeover interest given the gambling technology sector is so hot at the moment.
Do any of our offerings compete with Aristocrat or potentially interest them?
Betmakers has recently been added to the
ASX300. Could Nick Chan please comment on why, as chairman, he only insisted on
a breezy 10 minutes of formal presentations today. Can Nick undertake that next
year's AGM will be taken more seriously, including at least 20 minutes of
formal presentations. Also, why was there no video of today's AGM? Would you
expect racing fans to only listen to audio rather than view video of races
around the world. Faceless executives and directors is not how most ASX300
companies run their AGMs. Please lift your game.
Betmakers shares have soared from as low as
8c in January last year to $1 today. Well done on such outstanding performance.
The CEO, Todd Buckingham, owns 14.7m shares outright and is therefore a flight
risk who could potentially sell all his shares and retire. Could Todd comment
on whether his shares are pledged to any financiers and could the rem chair
comment on what steps we are taking to retain his services given that he is now
independently wealthy, on paper at least.
Now that we are an ASX300 company, isn't it
time that we moved our main office from Newcastle to Sydney and also took on a
Big Four accounting firm. How long are we locked in to having PKF as our
auditor and when did we last put the audit out to tender. How much more
expensive would a big four auditor be? Could the audit committee chair please
also contribute to this answer?
When is Betmakers doing to reach 30% female
representation on its board. Have we retained a search firm to assist in
dealing with this issue as we have one of the smallest boards in the ASX300.
Who are the most senior female executives at the company and is the best
satisfied with the diversity achieved at the executive level?
Treasury Wine Estates has voluntarily moved
to annual elections for directors in line with best practice that occurs in
both the US and the UK. Dual listed companies like News Corp, BHP and Rio Tinto
all do this due to the laws in the US and UK. Can we please look at doing the
same in 2022, particularly given our board is so small and we are attempting to
build a business in the US, which mandates annual elections.
We have two famously pioneering Matts
involved with Betmakers. Could Matt Davey comment on his personal history with
Matt Tripp and why isn't Matt Tripp on the board? As potentially the biggest
shareholder in Betmakers with more to come, please the chair please summarise
the board representation situation and approach with the Tripp interests.
When disclosing the outcome of all
resolutions today, will the chair and CEO support the idea of publicly
disclosing how many shareholders voted for and against each item, similar to
what happens with a scheme of arrangement? This will provide a better gauge of
retail shareholder sentiment on all resolutions and was a disclosure initiative
recently adopted by Metcash and Southern Cross Media after their AGMs.
Given that Betmakers has raised significant
funds from insider investors, including the Tripp interests, when are you going
to offer us retail shareholders a $30,000 Share Purchase Plan?
Why aren't you naming the shareholders who
are asking all these questions?
Why was there a 22% protest vote against the
rem report. What issues did the proxy advisers raises. Todd Buckingham
obviously couldn't vote his shares, but were the Tripp shares voted to avoid a
first strike?
Which of the proxy advisers recommended
against the fee rise for NEDS. What is the plan in terms of actually lifting
the fees to be paid?
Did the Waterhouse interests vote in favour
of all items today or are they in some way excluded from voting on rem matters
as well. Are the Waterhouse family involved with the company in any way other
than being a major shareholder?
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