Lucrative commercial deals between sports codes and betting brands revealed in Four Corners investigation
Secret lucrative commercial deals signed by major Australian sporting organisations with bookmakers are encouraging the massive increase in gambling advertising, Deakin University’s Hunter Fujak has told ABC’s Four Corners in an investigation that aired last night.
The episode, ‘Football’s secret gambling deal exposed’, revealed the secretive deals between Australia’s big sporting codes and bookmakers, where the extent of the industry’s influence has reached the amateur levels.
Four Corners revealed deals signed by the AFL, NRL and Football Australia and the percentage the sports bodies earned on every bet made on their events.
Fujak, a sports management researcher, told Four Corners that the codes are managing their publicity around their integration with gambling.
“When we look at the annual reports of our major codes, they really do a good job trying to blur the boundaries to hide the exact elements of how involved they are or how integrated gambling is,” he said.
The codes also earn more from an increase in punters betting on games, leading to an even greater interest in promoting gambling through advertising in the sports.
“Sport gambling advertising is very much for attracting new gamblers,” he added. “Our sport leagues stand to benefit the more there are new gamblers encouraged to gamble and existing punters gambling more.”
Independent Senator David Pocock, who has been advocating for gambling advertising reform in the parliament, told Four Corners gambling companies were sponsoring sports to get “primetime access” into lounge rooms across Australia.
“Just the sheer number of betting ads that young people are seeing. They turn on the TVs, they’re seeing gambling. They scroll their Twitter or Facebook feed, they’re seeing gambling,” Pocock said.
Pocock also conceded major codes won’t easily give up their gambling windfall.
“My sense is that people have had enough and that they want this dealt with, not with some of the tinkering that we see suggested, but really well thought out broad reform,” he said.
“These sorts of changes are hard and there’s no doubt about that. But I think it’s really having these honest conversations and doing what’s best for Australians, for our communities.”
Pocock added that sport is “such a big part” of Australian culture.
“We love watching sport. It’s now becoming about the odds and the betting side of things, It’s everywhere now,” he said. “And we’ve left it so long that there’s a real expectation that there will be big changes from all sides of politics.”
“Australians lose $25 billion a year gambling, that’s the most per capita in the world. We’re the biggest losers in the world when it comes to gambling. That’s not something we should be proud of. if you’ve got young kids and you know that this is normalising gambling for them. We’re not setting them up for success.”
Fujak added: “If we don’t do anything, we continue down this path, we’ll probably get to a point where five-year-olds can tell you what three to one or $3.65 means if you bet $80. And that might be good for their maths skills, but maybe not so good for society.”
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topics
ABC
betting and wagering
David Pocock
Deakin University
Four Corners
gambling
Hunter Fujak
sports
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