That punter, according to multiple sources, is the man dubbed “Mr Real Estate.” Mr McGrath’s account at William Hill has been held in the name of “John Wilson” said one insider who added that the real estate figure’s last bet was in mid December, 2017, when Mr McGrath deposited $500,000 into his account at William Hill. The half a million dollars was not used to reduce his debt levels but allowed him to keep betting. When asked about Mr McGrath’s debt to the company, William Hill’s CEO, Mr Waterhouse, said: “I am not aware of any individual client in terms of betting or whether they are a client or not a client whether it is Joe Bloggs or John whoever.” Tom Waterhouse has been running William Hill Australia. Credit:Andrew Meares When it was put to him that if he had a single person owing more than $16 million he would have to know the identity of that person, Mr Waterhouse said, “If we had a debt of that amount, I couldn’t say to you whether that person was Joe Bloggs or Tim Smith or whoever.’

He also said that no “bookmaker worth their salt” would ever reveal the name of a client. For his part Mr McGrath, 54, has previously denied having any gambling debts. "I can assure you that I am neither a large punter...nor do I owe any funds to anyone," he said in a text message to Fairfax Media in 2017. Mr McGrath did not reply to written questions put to him on Friday. Turmoil at company

The real estate guru has other pressing issues to deal with at present. Only a fortnight ago the chief executive and entire board of the ASX-listed company he founded, indicated that they planned to quit over the coming weeks. This will leave Mr McGrath to take over as executive chairman of McGrath Real Estate Ltd, having relinquished the role of CEO in 2016 as part of a management and board shake-up. Mr McGrath’s reinstatement at the helm of the company has not provided a boost. As of Friday the share price had slumped to 48 cents, a far cry from the initial float price of $2.10 in 2015. Loading The company has a market value of $68 million which puts the worth of Mr McGrath's 26 per cent holding at about $17.6 million. He also has $10 million worth of REA shares.

It is not known whether Mr McGrath owns any property through corporate vehicles or trusts but in 2011 he purchased a penthouse and mooring in Walsh Bay for $6.95 million. The luxurious harbourside apartment has since soared in value. According to industry sources, the notoriously private Mr McGrath was the high-profile bookmaker’s largest client when he was running his own online gambling business tomwaterhouse.com. When the publicly-listed English betting giant William Hill UK acquired Mr Waterhouse’s own company and two other local companies Sportingbet and Centrebet in 2013, Mr Waterhouse was installed as CEO. His friend Mr McGrath followed him to William Hill. Two years later Mr McGrath’s debt had reached $3 million and insiders at William Hill have suggested that the UK parent company gave instructions that no further credit facilities should be offered to the particular punter until the debt was down-sized.

By early 2017 the figure had reached $13 million and now insiders claim Mr McGrath’s debt has reached $16.2 million. The debt has become a widespread topic of conversation in the gambling industry with prospective purchasers going through the books of the struggling Australian subsidiary. “So we know he owes $16 million, we don’t know how much he has turned over in order to lose the $16 million,” said one source of just how much Mr McGrath had been betting each year. Credit betting push Multiple sources familiar with William Hill Australia’s accounts said the company had an individual credit-betting client who incurred average gambling losses of about $10 million a year, and had not settled his debt for some time, leaving William Hill out of pocket by about $16 million.

Illustration: Joe Benke Mr McGrath's reported pseudonym in the William Hill data base is not unusual in the industry, said one source. Rather than being for privacy reasons, it is to stop employees trying to take major clients when they leave, the source said. Of all the nation's major online sports-betting companies, the Waterhouse-run William Hill Australia is expected to be the hardest-hit by the Turnbull government’s incoming prohibition on digital bookmakers companies extending lines of credit to punters, a ban that takes effect from February 17. William Hill has revealed “credit betting” accounts for as much as 30 per cent of its wagering volumes in the Australian market.

In a statement to the London Stock Exchange last month, the company hinted it may sell up or close down its operations in Australia, saying the looming credit ban was set to pressure profits. The company said it would be “undertaking a strategic review of our Australia business”. William Hill Australia has been at loggerheads with Australia’s other online bookmakers, such as Sportsbet, CrownBet, Bet365 and Ladbrokes, who have been widely accepting of a series of responsible-gambling concessions, such as bans on offering lines of credit and reducing advertising volumes during live sport. Industry insiders say William Hill Australia is “wedded to credit betting”, and had been lobbying unsuccessfully for exemptions for its so-called VIP gamblers. Investment bank Citi has been engaged by William Hill to advise on the sale of its Australian business, but sources suggest the indicated price tag of up to $300 million is considered excessive.