June 30, 2026 — 4:16pmA jailed former financial adviser who stole more than $3 million from clients to feed his gambling addiction is seeking to sue the betting agencies in a bid to claw back the money for his victims.Gavin Fineff has launched Federal Court proceedings against Tabcorp and Entain, owner of Ladbrokes, to recoup the stolen millions he gambled. He wants to add the defunct BetEasy, since merged with Sportsbet, to the claim.Former financial adviser Gavin Fineff, pictured in 2020.Nick MoirThe companies say he should be blocked from pursuing the case, which requires court permission.Fineff’s barrister, David O’Brien, told the Federal Court in Sydney on Tuesday that Ladbrokes and BetEasy, in particular, engaged in predatory conduct and were “recklessly blind, wilfully blind, to the red flags that were flashing” about the problem gambler.While Fineff was jailed over a $3.3 million fraud relating to 12 former clients, O’Brien said the Federal Court case related to 21 victims and $4.3 million in misappropriated funds.If Fineff’s lawsuit is successful, the gambled funds would be returned to the former clients he defrauded.Fineff, who is bankrupt, requires the court’s approval to bring the proceedings because he is in prison after being convicted of 12 counts of fraud.The court must be satisfied the litigation is “not an abuse of process and that there is prima facie ground for the proceedings”. The agencies oppose leave being granted and say he does not have the legal right to bring the claim.Fineff’s lawyers argue the millions he stole from clients were held on trust by him for them because he breached his duty by using the loans for an unauthorised purpose. He wants a court declaration that the companies now hold those funds for the victims’ benefit, or are otherwise liable to pay them compensation.O’Brien acknowledged his client’s “reprehensible conduct” but said Fineff had a legal right and duty to “cause the trust funds to be returned to their rightful owners”.Justice Robert Bromwich will deliver his decision on whether the court case may proceed at a later date.Courting of ‘VIP’ gamblerThe court heard Fineff was given VIP status by the betting agencies. His lawyers say he was offered significant inducements by BetEasy – which merged with Sportsbet in 2020 – and Ladbrokes to keep gambling after his Tabcorp account was eventually frozen in 2018.O’Brien alleged BetEasy and Ladbrokes engaged in predatory conduct by making unsolicited contact with him via two now-former VIP managers after the Tabcorp account was effectively shut down.Fineff alleges the former VIP managers, who are named as parties to the proposed lawsuit, used confidential information about his betting with Tabcorp, including his large losses, to target him.The court heard the Ladbrokes VIP manager told his employer when opening Fineff’s account that the then financial planner had a $15.1 million turnover that year and losses of $2.4 million.Barrister Phoebe Knowles, who is also acting for Fineff, said that he was “gambling at a scale wildly beyond what anybody could consider to be average gambling” and the companies ignored red flags.She said the companies provided financial inducements in the form of bonus bets or rebates to keep Fineff betting.“The inducements we say TAB provided are … in the nature of $169,200. In relation to Entain … $528,890. At BetEasy, [it was] $3.3 million.”Addiction motivated crimesFineff, a former financial adviser in Sydney, was jailed in 2023 for a maximum of nine years after pleading guilty to 12 counts of dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception.The NSW District Court heard he gambled away $3.3 million of clients’ money between October 2016 and March 2020. Six of his victims were aged in their 70s and 80s.The court heard Fineff’s victims trusted him with personal loans they were falsely told would be put towards shares. Their individual losses ranged from $60,000 to $745,000.“I am satisfied the motive for the crimes was the offender’s addiction to gambling,” Judge Christopher O’Brien said in 2023.Fineff is eligible for release on parole after five years and four months, in February 2028. His appeal against the severity of his sentence failed.One of Fineff’s victims died a “broken” woman in 2021, aged 87, her daughter said in a statement summarised by the sentencing judge.“Both my children and I are convinced that the fraud perpetrated on her that was allowed to go undiscovered for two long years, along with the breach of trust, was a major factor in her earlier than otherwise death,” her daughter said.She said her mother had been brought up in a children’s home and she “ended where she started”, trusting no-one.For support visit GambleAware or speak to a counsellor 24 hours a day via the GambleAware Helpline on 1800 858 858.Our Breaking News Alert will notify you of significant breaking news when it happens. Get it here.More:CourtsGamblingSportsbetTabcorpFor subscribersGaming & wageringFrom our partners