Australian betting operator Tabcorp’s profit fell by nearly half in its most recent fiscal year due to legal troubles and the launch of its UK-facing online betting site.

In the 12 months ending June 30, Tabcorp eked out a 1.5% revenue gain to A$2.19b (US $1.67b), while earnings posted a similar rise to $515.8m. But millions worth of exceptional items dragged net profit after tax down 49.3% to $169.7m.

Those exceptional items included $13.6m in legal fees related to the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Center investigation of Tabcorp allegedly allowing punters to illegally wager on credit and set up betting accounts under false identiies.

There was also $14.4m in costs associated with the launch of the new Sun Bets online wagering joint venture with Rupert Murdoch’s News UK. The site went live this week, as did the new Playtech-powered Sun Casino.