![]() A source at One Tote Tasmania said a file detailing his betting activities one Melbourne Cup Day was "an inch thick".īetting on horses is not a perfect science. These types of bets offer big pools and opportunities for big payouts.Īt the major carnivals, when there is a lot of "mug money" wagered by uninformed and once-a-year punters, the rewards for Ranogajec are at their highest. ![]() Win and place bets may fit into his repertoire, but the big money is in the exotics - trifectas (1st, 2nd, 3rd), quartets (the first four placegetters) and quaddies (the winners of four nominated races). Hundreds of bets are queued up in the TAB system and are placed in the final seconds as horses fill the barrier stalls, so that opportunistic betters cannot follow the money as the odds tumble. There is no racing on Good Friday or Christmas Day, though you can bet a major race meeting in Japan tomorrow will not have escaped his attention. In Australia, he bets on every thoroughbred race. Ranogajec has spent millions of dollars trying to find a legal way to "beat" lotto and has studied the stockmarket, looking for behavioural patterns and ways to manipulate share prices to his advantage under certain conditions. ![]() A senior wagering source estimated the man known among the gambling elite simply by his Christian name, invests as much as $3bn across numerous international markets where pari mutuel (tote) systems operate, including the US, France, Britain and Hong Kong.īesides horse racing, he bets on sport, lotteries and the stockmarket. He has never granted an interview and has been nominated by racing websites as probably the world's biggest punter. Ranogajec is also believed to use the pseudonym John Wilson. He and his wife, Shelley Wilson, own properties across Australia including a $20m, 2000sq m waterfront property on two blocks at Sydney's Balmoral Beach. He is reclusive, loathes media attention and demands discretion from his employees and information and service providers. Rivalled on the world stage only by a couple of Hong Kong's betting syndicates, he is the exact opposite of his punting rivals. He has been dubbed the "Loch Ness Monster", simply because he is so rarely seen. They had names like "Hollywood" George Edser, the "Prince of Punters" Perc Galea, the "Filipino Fireball" Felipe Ysmael and Eddie "The Fireman" Birchley.Įgo drove them and, for some, was their downfall. They wore expensive suits, had flash cars and dined at the best restaurants. Ranogajec, who is in Europe with his wife and daughter, did not respond to questions from The Weekend Australian and the ATO declined to comment, citing privacy provisions.Ī man never spotted at racetracks or casinos, Ranogajec defies the image of the traditional flamboyant punter from the rich history of Australian thoroughbred racing. The Weekend Australian understands that the ATO has asked Ranogajec for financial records going back seven years. "At this stage no gambler in Australian history has ever been taxable." "The assumption that he owes them money depends on the assumption that gambling is taxable and that has never happened in Australia," Walsh says. Walsh says he and Ranogajec have discussed the audit, which he says is due to be completed by next September. "Does he owe them money? I suspect he reckons he doesn't and they reckon he does." "He is being audited (by the tax office) at the moment but I am sure it will turn out amicably," Walsh tells The Weekend Australian. Ranogajec recently helped fund Walsh's dream of building Hobart's newest tourist drawcard, the $70 million Museum of Old and New Art and Walsh says he feels deeply indebted to his former university colleague. ![]() ![]() Now, the mysterious son of Croatian immigrants faces an ATO audit, according to his business partner and fellow gambler David Walsh. Tasmanian-born Zeljko Ranogajec accounts for between 6 and 8 per cent of Tabcorp's $10bn Australian betting turnover and is said by experts to be the world's biggest punter. Picture: Craig Greenhill Source: The AustralianĪUSTRALIA'S biggest gambler, a reclusive maths wiz who bets more than $1 billion each year, is being examined by the Australian Taxation Office. Zeljko Ranogajec enjoying a walk around Balmoral in Sydney. Taxman targets the king of punters Zeljko Ranogajec Not to forget the rebates they pay to the big players.at the expense of the small punters. ![]()
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