Exclusive: Dinner occurred on the same day that four crossbench MPs held a press conference calling on government to ignore lobbying from gambling industry

Sportsbet was invited to a Labor party fundraising dinner with an Albanese government minister earlier this week, despite bipartisan calls for the party to ignore lobbying from the wagering industry and introduce tougher regulation.

A Sportsbet employee was among a small group of donors who attended the “boardroom dinner” with the minister for regional development, Kristy McBain, on Tuesday night. The dinner was organised by Labor’s fundraising vehicle.