This Month
Sam Arnaout’s Midas touch turns suburban pubs into pokie gold mines
Iris Capital has a remarkable knack of attracting high-rolling gamblers to its NSW hotels, increasing gambling profits and supercharging the value of the pubs.
Ainsworth’s former chief executive faces Austrian bribery charges
Prosecutors say Harald Neumann provided benefits to the country’s former vice chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache that influenced his public decision-making.
February
Former Ainsworth CEO, CFO paid secret bonuses for Novomatic deal
Documents show executives at the gaming machines giant were paid $15 million by its billionaire founder shortly after he offloaded his 53 per cent stake.
January
Gambling billionaire steps down after being arrested on family violence, drug offences
Laurence Escalante is accused of assaulting a woman, stealing several items and causing damage to a property.
Sam Arnaout fights off legal bid to limit Alice Springs poker machines
The Sydney pokies and pub billionaire has fought off a legal challenge that tried to reduce the number of gaming machines in two of his Alice Springs hotels.
ASX climbs, Iran teeters, Meta wipes 544k teen accounts
Read everything that’s happened in the news so far today.
Battle of the poker machine giants settled for $190m after two years
After a messy battle over trade secrets, Light & Wonder has paid its major rival Aristocrat and agreed to stop creating its dragon-themed games.
December 2025
White Fox, MJ Bale, Bing Lee hit in ASIC financial accounts crackdown
High-profile retailers, a food chain and an electronics company received infringement notices for alleged failure to file financial accounts.
Rival claims Aristocrat’s pokies ‘secrets’ up for sale on eBay
The Australian gaming machine giant is suing its ASX-listed competitor Light & Wonder, claiming it stole the technology behind a popular Dragon Link product.
November 2025
Legal battle over poker machine trade secrets takes new turn
Two ASX 100 companies have been in a legal battle over trade secrets – and a recent request for new documents suggest it could be about to turn ugly.
Aristocrat eyes up rivals as poker machine sales soar
The pokies manufacturer is planning to release new hardware in Europe and Asia, which it believes could take further market share from competitors.
The communities with 50pc more pokies than anywhere else
A new study has found Indigenous communities have been flooded with poker machines.
October 2025
Len Ainsworth’s son lobs partial takeover of pokies giant
Kjerulf Ainsworth has made the move to stop an off-market takeover by major shareholder Novomatic.
Pokies boss resigns after ugly fight with US gaming regulators
The Nevada gaming regulator had accused Ainsworth Game Technology’s chief executive of being hostile, arrogant, and misleading.
The pokies boss, the missing phone records and the Sydney receptionist
A blistering 90-minute interrogation by Las Vegas’ gaming regulator accused the gaming chief executive of being hostile, arrogant and misleading.
Ainsworth chief executive’s job on the line after Nevada licence snafu
Harald Neumann has abruptly pulled his application to be approved in the gambling mecca, with his position now under review by the poker machine manufacturer.
August 2025
Novomatic bid to take pokies maker Ainsworth private heads for failure
Heavyweight investors including Allan Gray and Spheria Asset Management say they will vote against the proposal from the company’s largest shareholder.
Life’s better as a big fish: Pokies company’s bid for super’s billions
Things are good at the top end of Australian equities. Light & Wonder wants to experience it.
Light & Wonder targets ASX 50 after move to drop Nasdaq listing
The gaming machine manufacturer had also considered a dual primary listing, but said it was hoping to attract investment from index-tracking funds.
Struggling Star, Crown secure critical NSW government reprieve
New rules that would have restricted patrons to gambling $1000 in cash per day will not be introduced for another two years after lobbying from casino giants.
