Gambling is, as smoking was, a slow-acting poison that uses sport to mask its taste

This article is an instalment in a new series, Punted, on the government’s failure to reform gambling advertising.

A journalist soon reconciles themselves to the idea that most of what they say is weightless, pointless and instantly perishable. But just occasionally, something hits the mark — as when, six weeks ago on the ABC’s Offsiders, I was asked to respond briefly to the appointment of Gillon McLachlan as CEO of Tabcorp.

I can’t say that McLachlan over the years has left much of a mark on me, albeit that he seems to have been hugely overpaid and overpraised for the herculean task of selling football to Australians. Oh,