A former professional rugby league player says gambling company employees offered to secure him illicit drugs to “strengthen” their relationship when he was in the grips of a financially crippling wagering addiction.
Luke Bateman, 31, who had losses of “tens of thousands of dollars a month” at the peak of his problem gambling, gave evidence about his personal experience at a Senate inquiry into the federal government’s legislation to restrict gambling ads in Canberra on Monday.
The two-day inquiry is due to hear from medical experts and welfare charities urging Labor to…