Gambling

Politicians who sit on gambling boards


January 31, 2023

This list tracks elected politicians who simultaneously sat on the boards of pokies entities, particularly in NSW, plus former politicians who later joined gambling boards.

Khal Asfour: the long time Labor mayor of Canterbury Bankstown has recently withdrawn from Labor NSW upper house ticket citing smears. Also featured on A Current Affair in 2018 over drinking indulgences.

Helen Coonan: one of John Howard's Communications Ministers spent 10 years on the Crown Resorts board culminating in a stint as executive chairman until August 2021.

Keith de Lacy: from Treasurer of Queensland in the Goss government to a professional director who chaired Macarthur Coal and Reef Casino Trust, owner of the Cairns casino. He also chaired Cubbie Group, Nimrod Resources, Queensland Energy Resources, Queensland Sugar and Trinity Ltd but has now retired from all public company boards.

John Ducker: the late Labor senator and NSW right wing powerbroker was chairman of pokies giant Aristocrat until he was sacked with a monstrous payout in 2004 shortly after the shares tanked to a record low of around $1. They are now above $30.

Ali Cupper: was on the board of The Workers Club, a big pokies outfit, in Mildura whilst serving as a Mildura Councillor but later became a state independent who publicly supported calls for pokies reform.