[2][3] Examples: The term gained wide currency in the Australian media in the late 20th century due to a combination of legal and constitutional factors, including: The association between organised crime and racing (especially horse racing) in Australia developed largely because of the conservative nature of Australian law and government in regard to gambling.
Because betting with on-track bookmakers could not be easily scrutinised by law enforcement or tax authorities, it was relatively easy for such people to claim that any large sums of money they might possess had been won on a lucky bet, and it was extremely difficult for the authorities to prove otherwise.
Former New South Wales Premier Robert Askin was widely reputed to have been at the centre of an extensive network of organised crime and official corruption, and allegedly received tens of thousands of dollars each month in bribes from major Sydney underworld figures.
Although official inquiries uncovered assets far in excess of what he could have reasonably earned through investments and stock trading, Askin always claimed that his wealth was because he was a shrewd gambler.
Likewise, because on-track betting transactions could not be monitored as they could in the government-run betting agencies (e.g. the Totalisator Agency Board), major racecourses became favoured meeting places for many of the people who are now generally accepted to have been leading figures in Australian organised crime, such as George Freeman, Perc Galea and Lenny McPherson.