University of Sydney holds stakes in major gambling firms

The University of Sydney has become the subject of speculation after information obtained under freedom of information requests have revealed that the institution holds stakes in Aristocrat, one of the world’s largest slot machine manufacturers, and Entain, one of the biggest sports betting and gaming companies.

Ethical concerns raised over University of Sydney’s investment in gambling companies

The information, reported by multiple media outlets, raises ethical concerns about the university’s relationship with the gambling industry. According to The Guardian, which cited the university’s student representative council, which obtained the original information, the companies offered funding to academics and gambling research centers needed to advance relevant research.

Although this does look bad at first glance, it has been a standard practice for the gambling industry to contribute to research in the field of responsible gambling and problem gambling, which has only become more demanding under regulatory pressure.

However, gambling firms too have a stake in ensuring that they address problem gambling and ensure consumers are safe, so as to avoid heavy financial penalties, like the ones seen by The Star Entertainment and Crown Resorts. The university has invested in both of these properties according to media sources, citing freedom of information for their facts.

Nevertheless, the optics matter, as the University of Sydney has been maintaining a relationship with the companies since 2021, although media reports speculate about a relationship that started earlier.

As to the actual scope of the contributions, reports have not been able to confirm their exact size. The University of Sydney similarly holds investments or has invested in the very least in International Game Technology, another game manufacturer.

"This issue is particularly pressing as gambling-related harm disproportionally affects vulnerable communities, and the industry’s role in funding research can lead to perceived or actual conflicts of interest," council president Angus Fisher said cited by The Guardian.

No clear delineation between research body and private company

The Guardian then proceeded to comb input from various well-known advocates on gambling issues, including Alliance for Gambling Reform’s Tim Costello who blasted the ties between established institutions such as the University of Sydney and the gambling industry.

"The reason Australia cannot escape the world’s greatest per capita losses and greatest gambling harm is that even our independent universities, like Sydney, invest in Aristocrat and Entain," Costello told the publication.

In the meantime, both Entain and Aristocrat have repeated that historically they funded research to garner a much better understanding of what triggers problem gambling in players. The issue here, though, has more to do with the fact that it would appear that the university itself has a stake in the gambling companies it is collaborating with.

In places such as Europe gambling companies and research bodies have openly collaborated in a bid to better understand gambling behaviors and triggers, using gambling companies’ vast amounts of data.

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