Zeljko Ranogajec | |
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Born | |
Nationality | Australian-London |
Other names | John Wilson |
Occupation(s) | Businessman; Professional gambler |
Zeljko Ranogajec (born 22 May 1961) [1] is a businessman and professional gambler from Australia. The London-based Ranogajec is known for horse betting, blackjack and other forms of advantage gambling.
Ranogajec was born in Hobart, Australia, in a family of Croatian immigrants. [2] He was a Commerce and Law student of the University of Tasmania, studying tax, finance and banking, when he began card counting in Blackjack at the Wrest Point Casino. [3] While there, Ranogajec met his future wife and business partner, Shelley Wilson, who was a full-time employee. [3] He subsequently relocated to New South Wales where he transferred his studies to the University of NSW in Sydney from which he eventually dropped out of to concentrate fully on advantage gambling.
According to professional blackjack players, [4] Ranogajec was "one of the most prolific and innovative advantage players of all time". His starting bankroll was allegedly "a few hundred dollars", through which he won "millions". Ranogajec worked with Alan Woods in the 1980s. [5] Eventually, Ranogajec was banned from most casinos in Australia, starting with Wrest Point, the Jupiters Casino on the Gold Coast, and then, after he moved overseas, in the United States as well. [3] All these casino bans earned him the nickname "The Joker". [6] Ranogajec, by that time, was already moving to other areas of advantage play, in any area of gambling where an advantage could be identified.
In 2011, Ranogajec was inducted into the Blackjack Hall of Fame. [4]
In 1994, Ranogajec reportedly won a $7.5 million Keno jackpot at the leisure and entertainment complex North Ryde RSL Club, of New South Wales, after reportedly [7] betting "significantly more than $7.5 million" to win it but coming out ahead due to the additional, smaller prizes awarded along the way to winning the jackpot.
Ranogajec, according to insider accounts, [7] deployed, for his betting activities on horse races, a strategy combined of specific factors: identifying betting opportunities with as high liquidity as possible, meaning betting pools with significant money being bet by the regular gambling public; deploying a "highly sophisticated betting system"; identifying small margins, on which he bets significant amounts of money; and, importantly, closing deals with bookmakers, including industry leader TabCorp, for significant rebates on his bets. The latter has created controversy in the horse betting world, with many punters complaining about the alleged deal. [8] A TabCorp spokesman stated, in response to the media reports, that the corporation "investigated the incidents" and found "no evidence of illegal activity", but reminded the betting public that "the offering of tote-odds betting products by corporate bookmakers has inherent risks of pool manipulation [by large bettors]." [8]
Ranogajec reportedly accounts for 6–8% of Australian bookmaker TabCorp's $10 billion annual revenue. [9] His betting on Betfair is believed to account for one third of the company's Australian operations. [10]
Ranogajec has gradually organised an extensive network of spotters, analysts, bettors and administrators, directing activities from office space he is allegedly occupying in the Fox Sports building at 235 Pyrmont Street, [11] in Sydney's inner suburb of Pyrmont. [12] It is known that he contracts many companies to provide information and does not employ anyone directly. However indirectly due to his information requirements, to gain the edge, he provides employment to over 300 people in Australia. [10] [13]
Ranogajec's success has been revealed to be based upon favorable discounts and rebates that he has negotiated with betting pool operators. In 2011 it was reported that the commercial failure of Tote Tasmania was partly due to the large rebates that Ranogajec had received on his betting turnover. [14] Subsequently, the business was purchased by Tatts Group.
In 2012 Ranogajec was named as being the leader of a gambling syndicate which had profited from a rebate arrangement with Tote Tasmania Pty Ltd which was a Tasmanian state-owned company. The profits paid to Ranogajec and his partners virtually wiped out the profits of the Tote Tasmania Pty Ltd, to the extent that Treasurer of Tasmania was reduced to selling off the entire business to Tabcorp Holdings. [14]
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has looked at his activities on numerous occasions over the last 25 years and on each occasion has concluded his activities did not constitute a business. Due to the level of his success, the ATO had decided to probe again in 2008. The ATO's current position is that betting and gambling wins are not assessable unless you are carrying on a business of betting or gambling and is contained in published rulings [15] for gambling syndicates in Australia. His business partner David Walsh believes that he does not owe them money as gambling on horse racing has never been a taxable source of income in Australia. [10] Tax experts following this case have said if the ATO has now changed its position on horse racing gambling, taxing retrospective wins is unjust and imminent for a high court challenge and could potentially open up a can of worms for every Australian who has won on horse racing in the past. [10]
After months of debt claims by the ATO, a settlement was agreed with Zeljko and other members of the punter's club, late October 2012. After a court-ordered mediation session between parties. [16] The ATO deal remains confidential but it understood to relate to the years 2004–2011 only. [17]
Since leaving Australia, it was reported in 2019 that Ranogajec is based in Europe, mostly UK and the Isle of Man. [18] He was appointed as a consultant to Newfield Limited, [19] an international racing and sports event company. [20]
In the United Kingdom, Ranogajec is a co-founder of Colossus bets along with Bernard Marantelli.[ citation needed ] Colossus Bets had announced a new venture partnership with the consortium Britbet comprising 55 British racecourses to operate horse betting racing pools and become a "major competitor in Tote service". [21] On 12 June 2018 it was announced that the Britbet project with Colossusbets as a partner, had been terminated. [22] In October 2020 Bernard Marantelli resigned as Chief Executive Officer of Colossusbets. He was also replaced as a director of the company by Eva Karagianni-Goel. [23]
Ranogajec rarely gives interviews. [3] According to some reports, there could be some intentional confusion as to his real name, whereby he'd be using his wife's surname, registering as John Wilson for investment or gambling endeavours. [3]
Ranogajec first appeared in The Australian Financial Review Rich List in 2019 with an assessed net worth at A$600 million; [18] and on the 2020 Rich List, also at A$600 million. [24] His net worth increased to A$610 million on the 2021 Rich List. [25] Ranogajec has denied suggestions that he is the world's biggest punter, replying that "I believe that's absolutely untrue" and the magnitude of his betting and wealth is "all just a big exaggeration". [7]
Year | Financial Review Rich List | Forbes Australia's 50 Richest | ||
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Rank | Net worth (A$) | Rank | Net worth (US$) | |
2019 [18] | 164![]() | $600 million ![]() | ||
2020 [24] | 179![]() | $600 million ![]() | ||
2021 [25] | 188![]() | $610 million ![]() |
Legend | |
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Icon | Description |
![]() | Has not changed from the previous year |
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Gambling is the wagering of something of value on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three elements to be present: consideration, risk (chance), and a prize. The outcome of the wager is often immediate, such as a single roll of dice, a spin of a roulette wheel, or a horse crossing the finish line, but longer time frames are also common, allowing wagers on the outcome of a future sports contest or even an entire sports season.
Parimutuel betting or pool betting is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the "house-take" or "vigorish" are deducted, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winning bets. In some countries it is known as the tote after the totalisator, which calculates and displays bets already made.
Spread betting is any of various types of wagering on the outcome of an event where the pay-off is based on the accuracy of the wager, rather than a simple "win or lose" outcome, such as fixed-odds betting or parimutuel betting.
Fixed-odds betting is a form of gambling where individuals place bets on the outcome of an event, such as sports matches or horse races, at predetermined odds. In fixed-odds betting, the odds are fixed and determined at the time of placing the bet. These odds reflect the likelihood of a particular outcome occurring. If the bettor's prediction is correct, they receive a payout based on the fixed odds. This means that the potential winnings are known at the time of placing the bet, regardless of any changes in the odds leading up to the event.
A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays out bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds.
Betfair is a British gambling company founded in 2000. It operates the world's largest online betting exchange. Its product offering also includes sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo. Business operations are conducted from its headquarters in London, alongside satellite offices in Ceuta, Dublin, Leeds, and Malta. In February 2016, Betfair merged with Paddy Power to create Flutter Entertainment.
The Australian and New Zealand punting glossary explains some of the terms, jargon and slang which are commonly used and heard on Australian and New Zealand racecourses, in TABs, on radio, and in the horse racing media. Some terms are peculiar to Australia, such as references to bookmakers, but most are used in both countries.
In the United States, a sportsbook or a race and sports book is a place where a gambler can wager on various sports competitions, including golf, football, basketball, baseball, ice hockey, soccer, horse racing, greyhound racing, boxing, and mixed martial arts. The method of betting varies with the sport and the type of game. In the US, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 allowed only Nevada, Oregon, Montana, and Delaware to legally wager on sports other than horse racing, greyhound racing, and jai alai; the law was ruled unconstitutional on May 14, 2018, freeing states to legalize sports betting at their discretion.
Gambling in the United Kingdom is regulated by the Gambling Commission on behalf of the government's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) under the Gambling Act 2005. This Act of Parliament significantly updated the UK's gambling laws, including the introduction of a new structure of protections for children and vulnerable adults, as well as bringing the burgeoning Internet gaming sector within British regulation for the first time.
The Tote is a British gambling company founded in 1928. It is the world’s largest pool betting operator. Its product offering also includes sports betting and online casino. It is headquartered in Wigan, England, UK.
A tipster is someone who regularly provides information (tips) on the likely outcomes of sporting events on internet sites or special betting places.
The Tote is a British gambling company founded in 1928. It is the world’s largest pool betting operator. Its product offering also includes sports betting and online casino. It is headquartered in Wigan, England, UK.
Tote Ireland is an Irish gambling company founded in 1929. It is Ireland’s largest pool betting operator. Its product offering also includes sports betting. It is headquartered in The Curragh, County Kildare.
Advantage gambling, or advantage play, refers to legal methods used to gain an advantage while gambling, in contrast to cheating. The term usually refers to house-banked casino games, but can also refer to games played against other players, such as poker. Someone who practises advantage gambling is often referred to as an advantage player, or AP. Unlike cheating, which is by definition illegal, advantage play exploits innate characteristics of a particular game to give the player an advantage relative to the house or other players. While not illegal, advantage play is often discouraged and some advantage players may be banned by certain casinos.
Gambling in South Africa has been heavily restricted since 1673, with South Africa's Gambling Act of 1965 officially banning all forms of gambling except betting on horse racing which existed as a sporting activity.
Gambling is an activity undertaken by many Australians. Over 80% of Australian adults engage in gambling of some kind, which is the highest rate of gambling in the world. This number includes some 4% of the adult population who play the pokies once a week, accounting for some 62% of locals' annual gambling spend.
Thomas Robert Waterhouse is an Australian businessman, Chief Investment Officer of Waterhouse VC, Director of TomWaterhouse.com, co-founder of investment firm ListedReserve.com. He is the fourth generation of the Waterhouse racing dynasty and the grandson of one of the first official bookmakers in Australia.
Alan Woods was an Australian and Hong Kong professional gambler and mathematician considered among the biggest gamblers in the world. Woods focused on blackjack and betting on horse racing. He has worked with Bill Benter and Zeljko Ranogajec during his career and "pioneered quantitative gambling by betting on Hong Kong horse races". His estimated net worth at the time of his death was AU$670 million.
Betting on horse racing or horse betting commonly occurs at many horse races. Modern horse betting started in Great Britain in the early 1600s during the reign of King James I. Gamblers can stake money on the final placement of the horses taking part in a race. Gambling on horses is, however, prohibited at some racetracks. For example, because of a law passed in 1951, betting is illegal in Springdale Race Course, home of the nationally renowned Toronto-Dominion Bank Carolina Cup and Colonial Cup Steeplechase in Camden, South Carolina.
Colossus Bets is a British bookmaker specialising in pools betting. The Colossus Bets is headquartered in London, England, and was founded by former Monsanto PR operative Bernard Marantelli and Zeljko Ranogajec in 2013. The bookmaker currently focuses in pools betting by incorporating modern betting features such as Cash Out and Syndicates, currently holding seven US patents. As well as offering lottery-sized jackpots.
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