Big NRL bet raised TAB's suspicions in NZ

A woman who tried to lay an unusually large bet on the NRL match now under investigation by Australian authorities tipped off the New Zealand TAB to a possible scam.

The attempted bet – “well in the thousands” of dollars – was for a North Queensland penalty goal to be the first score in North Queensland’s match against Canterbury last August.

The Bulldogs last week stood down forward Ryan Tandy, who faces court on March 3, to answer charges of providing false evidence to a law enforcement agency.

NSW detectives are investigating suspicious betting activity in relation to the match after a betting plunge on a penalty to be the first score.

That activity extended to New Zealand, with the TAB saying that it refused a large bet on that option, restricting it instead to $50.

TAB bookmaker Mark Stafford said today that bets on the first score were usually in the range of $10 to $20.

Putting money on a penalty was also a rare, given that teams seldom had a shot at goal early in a match, preferring to maintain possession and field position.

After accepting the $50 wager, the agency suspended betting on the option and contacted agencies in Australia.

“We made some telephone calls,” Stafford said. “We found the same thing was happening overseas and we just closed that option.”

Stafford said he could not confirm a media report that the bet in question was placed in a south Auckland TAB branch.

However, he said the TAB had sent material such as pictures and video footage to Australian authorities.

In the match, Tandy was penalised two minutes into the game for impeding North Queensland’s Grant Rovelli in front of the posts, leading to suspicions about his actions.