Robert Waterhouse is an Australian racing identity, businessman, form specialist, punter and

bookmaker A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795. Range of events Book ...

. Waterhouse is the son of Bill Waterhouse, he is married to

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

horse trainer A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some of the responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them submissive behaviors and/or coaching them for e ...

Gai Waterhouse Gabriel Marie "Gai" Waterhouse (née Smith; born 2 September 1954) is an Australian horse trainer and businesswoman. The daughter of Tommy J. Smith, a leading trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses, Waterhouse was born and raised in Sydney. After ...

, and is the father of bookmaker Tom Waterhouse.

Career

Waterhouse is a high-profile bookmaker who followed in the traditions of his father, Bill Waterhouse, a leading Sydney bookmaker and barrister. Rob Waterhouse first became a licensed bookmaker in 1972 and has worked in all codes: thoroughbreds; jumping; trotting; pacing, greyhounds; greyhound coursing and quarter horse racing. Following a 17 year break from bookmaking due to the fallout from betting in the Fine Cotton Affair, he returned to the track in 2001. He is currently licensed to field in NSW, Victoria, QLD, NT, Tasmania and the United Kingdom. Rob Waterhouse is also the only bookmaker since 1910 to be licensed to field in NZ (which normally only allows totalisator betting) - when he fielded to much fanfare during the Waikato Racing Carnival at Te Rapa on 2 February 2002. In November 2022,

Liquor & Gaming NSW Liquor & Gaming NSW is an agency of the Government of New South Wales, that is part of the Customer Service cluster. Liquor and Gaming NSW is responsible for the development, implementation and integrity of the regulatory framework for liquor sal ...

confirmed it is prosecuting Waterhouse for alleged breaches of the Betting and Racing Act after he allegedly incentivised a customer to continue punting after they requested their account be closed.

Fine Cotton affair

Both Bill and Robbie Waterhouse were caught up in the aftermath of the Fine Cotton affair. Bill and Robbie Waterhouse were warned-off racecourses for having prior knowledge of a ring-in being installed in a race. Robbie Waterhouse was disqualified for life from holding a bookmaker's licence and "warned-off" Australian and other racecourses. The ban was lifted in August 2001 and he then successfully re-applied for a licence.

Business interests

Waterhouse is a company director and owned shares in companies associated with Tom Waterhouse NT, a company licensed as a bookmaker in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Au ...

, operated by Waterhouse's son, Tom, and Robbie Waterhouse's sister, Louise Raedler Waterhouse. The business was sold to British bookmaker William Hill in 2013.

Career

Fine Cotton affair

Business interests

See also

References

Further reading