De-Anne Kelly linked to LuckyBet offshore casino in Curaçao records
Former Australian federal minister De-Anne Kelly has been identified in documents submitted to the Curaçao gambling regulator as a shareholder and compliance executive of LuckyBet, an online casino that later faced regulatory action in Australia.
The information emerged from a collection of internal documents from the Curaçao Gaming Authority released online by German activist and freelance journalist Lilith Wittmann. ABC News reported that it checked the documents against publicly available information where possible.
The records place Kelly's involvement in LuckyBet before the operator was warned by Australia's communications regulator in 2025 over its provision of gambling services to Australian customers.
De-Anne Kelly LuckyBet connection dates to 2023
An early LuckyBet business plan dated March 2023 identified Kelly as a major shareholder and chief compliance officer.
The company structure involved LBC Enterprises Australia Pty Ltd, which held an interest in the casino. Kelly's investment firm, Calliope Investments, was listed among the shareholders of that Australian company.
Kelly's son, Ian Parke, was also identified in the documents as a director and major shareholder.
The records show that Kelly remained connected to the business when LuckyBet submitted its application for a Curaçao gambling licence in March 2024.
According to ABC News, Curaçao regulator staff identified the combination of Kelly's ownership interest and compliance role as a potential conflict during the licensing process.
Kelly was also serving on Australia's Administrative Appeals Tribunal at the time of the licence application. She left that position before LuckyBet's licence was approved and the casino began operating.
LuckyBet later came under Australian regulatory scrutiny
The ownership disclosure predates an investigation by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).
ACMA received a complaint concerning LuckyBet on August 7, 2025. The regulator opened an investigation shortly afterward and concluded that the casino was not licensed in Australia and was providing a prohibited gambling service to Australian customers.
ACMA subsequently issued a formal warning in September 2025.
The regulator told ABC News that the information available during its original investigation indicated that LuckyBet's owners and directors were registered in Curaçao. It did not have access to the newly leaked documents at that time.
ACMA has now said it will examine the additional information concerning a possible Australian ownership connection and consider whether further action is warranted.
The regulator's review is therefore separate from the historical ownership information itself. The available reporting does not establish that Kelly personally breached Australian gambling law.
LuckyBet ownership changed before licence revocation
The corporate structure surrounding LuckyBet changed during 2025.
Curaçao regulatory filings show that LBC Enterprises Australia Pty Ltd was removed from the casino's shareholder structure on March 6, 2025.
Following the change, a company controlled by Parke became the sole shareholder, according to the documents reported by ABC News.
Parke subsequently appeared publicly in connection with LuckyBet. In June 2025, he was quoted in a release announcing a proposed sale of the business to Apple iSports.
That transaction did not ultimately proceed. Apple iSports later filed a notice with US securities authorities indicating that the proposed deal had fallen through.
The Curaçao regulator revoked LuckyBet's gambling licence toward the end of 2025. Despite the revocation, ABC News reported that the casino's website remained accessible.
Former minister had previously backed Australia's gambling law
Kelly's historical involvement with LuckyBet has attracted attention because of her earlier role in Australia's gambling legislation.
A National Party member of parliament from 1996 to 2007, Kelly served as minister for veterans' affairs for 15 months.
She voted for the Interactive Gambling Act in 2001, legislation that restricted certain forms of online gambling offered to Australian customers.
During the parliamentary debate, Kelly argued that regulation was necessary because gambling websites could expose vulnerable people to harm.
The legislation later became the basis for Australia's framework for dealing with prohibited offshore online gambling services.
Curaçao document leak raises separate regulatory questions
The records concerning LuckyBet became public after Wittmann obtained a large collection of documents from the Curaçao Gaming Authority.
Wittmann said she had been attempting to identify ownership information involving Curaçao-based gambling businesses and had monitored the regulator's systems. She subsequently released the dataset online after working with investigative journalists.
The Curaçao Gaming Authority has said it is investigating the security breach and will determine whether additional action is warranted based on its findings.
The circumstances surrounding the document release are separate from the information contained in the records. The ABC said it attempted to verify the leaked material through public sources where possible.
ACMA to assess newly disclosed ownership information
The next regulatory step rests with ACMA.
The Australian regulator has confirmed that it will assess the newly reported information about a possible Australian ownership connection to LuckyBet. Any subsequent action would depend on the regulator's assessment of that information and the applicable Australian gambling rules.
For the wider online gambling industry, the case highlights the importance of establishing who owns and controls an offshore operator when regulators examine whether a gambling service is lawfully targeting customers in their jurisdiction.
It also puts attention on the relationship between corporate ownership, compliance responsibilities and licensing disclosures when an operator seeks approval in an offshore gambling jurisdiction.
Neither Kelly nor Parke responded to ABC News requests for comment at the time of publication.
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Sources
ABC News
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