Tom Papley admits ‘mistakes’ were made following controversial new punting podcast

Sydney star Tom Papley has spoken out on his controversial punting podcast, after the NSW Office of Responsible Gambling raised their concerns about the show with the Swans.

Sydney star Tom Papley has apologised to the NSW Office of Responsible Gambling and will not release this week’s episode of his new punting podcast following controversy around the first episode.

The Swans spoke to Papley on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the future of the show, The Early Crow, which he co-hosts with horse racing analyst Jack Dickens.

Papley and Dickens took to social media on Thursday to provide an update on the podcast and admitted that the language they used in the episode was not appropriate.

“A lot of you guys would have seen public media around The Early Crow,’ Papley said.

“We’ve learned from our mistakes. We know it’s very important to gamble responsibly.

“Going forward we’ll be very careful with what we say and do and gambling responsibly will always be front of mind, as well as giving betting advice [with] accountability.”

It’s expected the podcast will return.

UPDATE - The Early Crow@[e-mail]/mmYiHzbaOA

— The Early Crow (@TheEarlyCrowPod) August 10, 2023

Papley’s interest in horse racing has never previously been an issue for the Swans. He is a regular on SEN Track and talks openly about punting on his social media.

Concerns had been raised earlier in the week by the NSW Office of Responsible Gambling over the language used in the first episode of the podcast.

“When the gates open, if your arse doesn’t quiver just a little bit, you haven’t got enough on,” Papley said within the opening two minutes.

Papley apologised to the state government body and assured his messaging in future episodes would align with responsible gambling messaging.

The Office of Responsible Gambling is a premier partner of the Swans, with Sydney signing on as part of GambleAware’s Reclaim the Game initiative over the past three years.

The Swans have confirmed that they intend to keep promoting the Reclaim the Game initiative going forward which includes discontinuing any sports betting advertising or sponsorship at home games at the SCG.

“I don’t think that sporting clubs promoting gambling is a sensible thing in the community today,” Chairman Andrew Pridham told this masthead. “We’re all in on that.”