Brendan Fevola, Dom Thomas’ slammed by Alliance for Gambling Reform
Love Island’s Dom Thomas and AFL star turned radio host Brendan Fevola have been called out for spruiking an online pokie game. ‘This awful game is a gateway to gambling addiction and a real concern with so many staying at home during the COVID-19 crisis,’ said Reverend Tim Costello.
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Love Island influencer Dom Thomas and AFL star turned radio host Brendan Fevola have been called out for spruiking online gaming.
The Alliance for Gambling Reform has labelled the pair and others promoting similar apps irresponsible for sharing what appear to be paid posts encouraging followers to play Slotomania, an online poker machine game.
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“This is a classic move by the gambling industry, luring in young customers via so-called influencers and sports stars, trying to glamorise gambling,” AGR chief advocate Reverend Tim Costello said. “We know some of the big industry players are investing heavily in gaming as a way of getting at younger consumers to make them view gambling as normal via in game purchases such as loot boxes, which are essentially gambling in disguise. This awful game being promoted by Dom Thomas and Brendan Fevola is a gateway to gambling addiction and a very real concern with so many of us staying at home during the COVID-19 crisis.”
Rev Costello added: “It’s incredibly disappointing to see Brendan Fevola promoting this given his own gambling issues. He should know better and he shouldn’t want anyone else to go through what he did in losing his fortune to gambling.”
Fevola’s post is surprising in that he has been vocal about his previous battles with gambling, including speaking of a three day binge that included losing more than $300,000 on the horses.
Both Thomas and Fevola shared the posts on their Instagram this week, offering a swipe up link for followers to click through to play Slotomania, which is free to download but encourages players to pay extra for additional features.
Neither would comment. In his post, Thomas described playing the pokies as having “a bit of a slap”.
“This here is perfect because you can spin from home for one, it is not real money so you are not actually gambling,” Thomas said in the video. “I am loving it, it is fun to pass the time.”
The Australian Communications Media Authority would not comment specifically on Slotomania but offered a general warning to consumers to educate themselves.
