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Match-day AFL betting must be de-saturated

12th April, 2011
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Roar Guru
12th April, 2011
12
1417 Reads

Carlton players wrap up Brisbane forward Brendan Fevola. AAP Image/Dave Hunt

The view for a spectator at a modern-day AFL game is somewhat similar to scenes out of ‘A Beautiful Mind’. The film’s protagonist, John Nash, is an asocial mathematical genius. Unlike the stereotypical high-school student, he finds comfort through algebraic equations.

During the film, Nash writes down perplexing mathematical formulas and sticks them around his house, as he attempts to leave a unique and worthwhile legacy. His walls are flooded by pieces of paper, full of numbers and arithmetic.

It’s a messy sight and extremely hard to fathom.

The MCG on a Saturday afternoon might not look exactly like Nash’s house. But it’s pretty damn close.

Betting agencies are inundating the AFL on game days. Venues have become a gambler’s paradise, with dollar signs and tempting odds splattered all over the place.

Before the start of each game and at the end of every quarter, head-to-head odds appear on the big screen, both at the MCG and Etihad Stadium, which strongly encourage people to have a flutter. Rich corporate bookmakers also have their names plastered across advertising boards on boundary fences.

Even when you’re not at the game, you can’t avoid the odds.

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If you’re listening to a broadcast of the match on radio, it’s not uncommon for the station to call up a bookmaker representative during quarter breaks and have them announce any changes to the markets. If you follow games on the AFL’s official website, live odds are also made clearly visible to readers.

Betting markets are heavily plugged days out from games too. Television shows that preview the upcoming round of AFL matches are sponsored by betting agencies and often accompany team line-ups with the head-to-head odds.

AFL gambling is in your face all the time now. And quite simply, it has gone too far.

The Herald Sun recently reported that a national survey release found three-quarters of fans were worried about the rapid rise of sports gambling. And so they should be.

Most clubs now have an affiliation with a betting agency.

Therefore every time a player, coach or official faces the media, a bookmaker’s logo is often exposed to the club’s supporters. For people trying to overcome gambling addictions, it must be excruciating, especially because placing a bet is so easy these days.

The promotion of AFL betting is not only an issue for the footy public. It is an issue for players.

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Imagine if former Melbourne forward David Schwarz was still playing. A self-confessed gambling addict since the tender age of 14, Schwarz admitted in his autobiography All Bets Are Off that at one point during his playing days, all he could think about during games was what he’d be betting on afterwards.

Luckily he is now clean and has developed a reputation as a media commentator on SEN and Channel 7. But imagine if Schwarz lined up in the Dees’ forward line against Brisbane last weekend and had to deal with odds being repeatedly flashed up on the scoreboard. How would he have felt?

What about former Brisbane and Carlton forward – and gambling addict – Brendan Fevola? How would he have been feeling over the past few years of his career?

Yes, he’s publicly stated he has never bet on anything to do with the AFL. But surely all those odds on the scoreboard, plus the blatant advertising of betting across all media platforms, would not have helped his situation.

There are benefits for the AFL in associating with bookmakers. By keeping betting records and information, the AFL can check and investigate whether players, coaches and officials have had a punt on a footy match. Therefore some links with betting agencies need to stay in place.

However their promotion on match-day must be downgraded.

Aussie Rules is not horse racing. With perhaps the exception of a few outstanding racehorses such as Black Caviar, a large portion of spectators will often attend a racing meet to fatten their wallets, rather than enjoy the sport itself.

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Thoroughbred racing needs betting odds and a variety of different betting options to make it an interesting day out for spectators.

Footy doesn’t.

The AFL is one of the great sporting spectacles. To go to a match and to see how hard these players work and how ferociously they attack the ball is a joy to watch. Spectators don’t need routine betting updates to be blasted at them to enjoy a day out at the footy.

An AFL venue is not the place to overwhelm and persuade people to have a bet. The promotion of gambling at matches must be curbed now – while spectators are still able to afford a ticket.

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