Gambling industry figures denied the biggest allegations and said there was a difference between an inducement and a so-called “generosity”.

Former NRL player Luke Bateman told a Senate inquiry he was often invited to VIP events and in one case did drugs with the bosses of an unnamed bookmaker.

“The entire sort of C-suite of the company was there. All the management team administration, and they were sort of all in a backroom doing drugs together,” the former gambling…