Cricket Australia challenged to follow Perth Wildcats’ lead and sever links to gambling firms
Cricket Australia have been challenged to follow the lead of NBL franchise the Perth Wildcats and end its association with sports betting in the wake of perceived hypocrisy in Emily Smith case.
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A basketball team that almost sent itself broke by banning gambling advertising has challenged cashed-up Cricket Australia to take the same action.
Former chief executive of the Perth Wildcats Nick Marvin called on all major sports to follow the bold initiative his minnow organisation took back in 2011 when they severed sponsorship ties with betting and alcohol companies.
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Gambling reform head Tim Costello accused Cricket Australia of shameful hypocrisy this week over the fact it has taken a hard line stance on Instagram prankster Emily Smith for an innocent anti-corruption breach while at the same time accepting money from bet agency Bet365.
Costello is adamant cricket has a greater responsibility than other sports to banish its partnership with Bet365 – whose advertising features prominently at all Test venues – given its standing as the national sport and also its shady history of match fixing.
Cricket Australia said earlier this week it was aware of the challenges of being sponsored by a bookmaker, but outlined plans to help give fans choices in what advertising content they are exposed to.
Marvin said if a financially vulnerable club in a second-tier sport like basketball could take the plunge, then so should a powerhouse like cricket, which has a huge influence over kids and young people.
“We made a decision not on money, but on values,” Marvin told The Daily Telegraph.
“I’d rather have been broke than take the dollar from an agency that does no good and there is no one in sport that should justifiably take any money from sports gambling.
“Call it a belief in a higher being, or Karma, but we managed to get by and now we would arguably be three or four times better financed by good sponsors than we were back then.
“It also had a contribution to our success on court.
“We went 10 years without winning championships to winning one every second year. And the question I asked of us was, ‘what would we be remembered for?’
“You take a risk walking away from those big (agencies), but at least you can sleep well at night and your parents and customers – and non-customers – will reward you.”
Cricket has two years to run on its contract with Bet365.
Costello’s renewed plea to the Cricket Australia board to end its association with Bet365 comes a year after he was invited by CA chief Kevin Roberts to address State executives – at which time he delivered some similar home truths.
Marvin said if he had his time again he would have walked away from the Wildcats’ partnership with West Australian betting agency Player mid-deal instead of waiting for it to expire.
However, he insists he can’t judge CA on this front, given he didn’t have the courage to take such a drastic step at the time himself.
“You get some superpowers whether you’re in sport as an administrator or a player, and with great power comes a great responsibility,” said Marvin.
“The question is, how are you going to use that power regardless of (the financial cost)?
“The world has changed. Not just from activists on social platforms, but from mums and dads who feed sporting businesses and want goodness.”
Cricket Australia has acknowledged it is a complex issue and one it is proactively addressing.
“The promotion of gambling through sport is a challenging topic, one that we are not immune to. We aim to be socially responsible in all that we do while recognising people’s right to make their own choices,” said CA Communications Executive, Karina Keisler.
“We are working on solutions that provide cricket fans greater choice of advertising content including the ability to opt out.”
Meanwhile, cricket’s players association is in the process of trying to convince the Cricket Australia board to engage in a review of the process behind Emily Smith’s ban.