Perth billionaire Laurence Escalante accused of terrorising ex-partner, stealing luxury items, drug offences
Perth billionaire Laurence Escalante has appeared in court on serious charges after being accused of assaulting his ex-partner after breaking into her home.
WA Police carried out a dramatic raid on Mr Escalante’s home on Thursday – which cannot be disclosed due to fears he would be targeted or even kidnapped due to his vast wealth – detaining him in police custody overnight.
The 44-year-old man faced charges of aggravated assault, criminal damage, aggravated burglary and burglary in the Perth Magistrates Court on Friday.
He allegedly broke into the 24-year-old woman’s home on Monday night, the Australia Day public holiday, assaulted her and stole luxury items.
Police also charged Mr. Escalante with persistent participation in domestic violence allegedly committed between June 2025 and January 2026.
They also claimed he had trafficked amounts of cocaine, MDMA and ketamine on him when they raided his home and charged him with three counts of possession of drugs with intent to sell or supply.
Mr. Escalante stood behind a security screen on Thursday, flanked by guards and wearing a black puffer jacket despite the hot weather.
Judge Elaine Campione issued a strict restraining order preventing him from contacting the alleged victim, directly or indirectly, “by pigeon, letter, or by any means whatsoever.”
He was released on bail and had to post a $100,000 surety via electronic funds transfer to get out, which he did.
Mr Escalante refused to speak to media waiting outside the field before leaving in his luxury Range Rover.
Ms. Campione also made him a personal pledge of $100,000.
He will appear in the same court on February 26 and receive legal advice.
As part of his bail conditions, Mr. Escalante must not leave the state and must not contact prosecution witnesses.
He must also report to the officer in charge of Northbridge Police Station every Monday and Friday.
Mr. Escalante is the creator and boss of Virtual Gaming Worlds, which is behind online gambling brands such as Chumba Casino and Global Poker, and has amassed a fortune of $4.5 billion, according to the latest Financial Review Rich List.
A VGW spokesman confirmed the company was aware of the accusations.
“These have nothing to do with VGW and are personal in nature,” they said.
“However, we can confirm that Mr. Escalante will take a leave of absence from his position as CEO and chairman of the board of directors of VGW.
“In the interim, we have appointed experienced leadership from our existing executive team to take on these responsibilities and it is business as usual for VGW.
“The company takes such allegations extremely seriously. As this is a private matter and remains before the courts, we cannot comment further.”
In August last year, Mr. Escalante completed an $810 million offer for 30 percent of VGW, which he did not own, valuing the group founded by the former financial planner at $3.2 billion.
Mr. Escalante founded VGW in 2010, but it was the COVID-19 lockdowns in the U.S. that catapulted the business to success.
It has since made billions of dollars by exploiting loopholes in U.S. law banning internet gambling to offer online “social” casinos and poker machine games.
However, increasing regulatory obstacles in the United States over the last three years have cast a shadow over the country’s future.
However, the company is still making record profits, with an estimated $550 million in after-tax revenue and over $6 billion in revenue for fiscal 2025.
