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Few executives across corporate Australia have gone to quite the same lengths as Sportsbet chief executive Barni Evans to show that they get it. On what it’s like to be a teenager addicted to the pokies, the gambling boss told The Australian newspaper in 2023 that “I’ve been through that”.
A couple of years later, when President Donald Trump was vapourising the US government’s diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) programs, Evans reportedly emailed staff to explain why he and other members of the leadership team adorned themselves with “Ally” T-shirts. That email, which reportedly carried the subject line “Having each other’s back”, told staff: “How we show up is important and makes a difference.”
Well, this week, roughly 4 per cent of the company was informed that it wouldn’t be long before they wouldn’t have roles to show up for.
The Irish-owned gambling company informed affected staff on Wednesday morning that their roles would be made redundant. The headcount reduction will see Sportsbet cut some 50 roles, CBD hears, accounting for roughly 4 per cent of the company’s total workforce of about 1200 people.
In response to our inquiries, a Sportsbet spokesman confirmed the cuts. He described the changes as a response to a “more competitive and challenging environment”.
“These changes are focused on simplifying how teams work together, improving accountability and ensuring our business is set up for the long term. The impact on headcount is limited and we are currently in a consultation phase with affected employees,” the spokesman told CBD.
“Our priority is supporting our people through that process.”
Word is the redundancies are not linked to any sort of AI panic or “major” cost-cutting program, CBD hears. The company has about three dozen vacant roles that it will not fill as a result of the changes, we’re told, and some 12 or so roles will be created, as affected staff go through a consultation process over the redundancies.
The last we heard from Evans’ Sportsbet was on the day Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced new restrictions on gambling ads across sporting stadiums, uniforms, TV, radio and the internet. The plans stopped short of the complete ban on online gambling ads recommended by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy.
Still, Sportsbet was less than pleased. The company, perhaps best known for its blanket rugby league advertising, branded the plan “severe and far-reaching”. Even then, the company had Australians front of mind, highlighting concerns that if they can’t gamble with Sportsbet they might end up turning to “illegal offshore operators” that offer no consumer protections.
Josh Bornstein’s mystery new gig?
Josh Bornstein, the high-profile workplace lawyer known for his wins against Qantas on behalf of workers and the ABC on behalf of Antoinette Lattouf, will start a mystery new gig after stepping down as principal lawyer at Maurice Blackburn from July 1.
An author, media opinionist and, briefly, a political aspirant, the labour – or should that be Labor – lawyer will take on the role of consulting principal at the firm as part of his shift in direction.
His colleagues were informed on Tuesday of Bornstein’s decision to call time with the firm after nearly 29 years.
“Josh is a legend of this firm and a giant of labour law in this country. His contribution to extending access to justice for Australian workers has, in several cases, been historic. He really has helped make the firm the national institution it is today,” Maurice Blackburn chief executive Jacob Varghese said in a message to staff seen by CBD.
Well-known in Melbourne’s business, political, legal and union circles, Bornstein’s next move remains unclear – but CBD imagines we won’t need to wait too long to find out.
The legal powerhouse joined the Labor and union-linked Maurice Blackburn in 1997 from Slater & Gordon and has gone to successfully helm high-profile workplace disputes including the Transport Workers’ Union win over Qantas where the airline was found to have illegally sacked 1700 ground staff during the COVID pandemic, and the Beaconsfield mine disaster, where he represented the Australian Workers’ Union and the family of Larry Knight, the miner who died in the mine collapse.
He also represented journalist Antoinette Lattouf in her successful unfair dismissal action against the ABC in 2025 after the national broadcaster axed her for reposting a Human Rights Watch report on her Instagram, while employed on a five-day casual contract.
A man of many interests, Bornstein published a book, Working for the Brand, in 2024, which was a look into whether cancel culture and censorship lets companies and institutions control people’s lives.
He has also harboured political ambition, although a potential senate run for Labor in 2021 was scuttled after media scrutiny of his prolific use of Twitter, now known as X, uncovered posts critical of Labor identities.
Bornstein was recently appointed adjunct associate professor at the University of Technology Sydney, is on the board of The Australia Institute, the Australian Society of Authors and the advisory board of the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Employment and Labour Relations law.
John Buckley is a CBD columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email.
Fiona Byrne is the CBD columnist for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.From our partners
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