Eddie McGuire calls for gambling amnesty, fears players will get in trouble with organised crime

Collingwood president Eddie McGuire wants AFL players to come clean about their gambling without the anxiety of being penalised before they fall into serious trouble.

Eddie McGuire has floated the extraordinary concept of an “amnesty” for players betting on football.

A day after Magpies star Jaidyn Stephenson was suspended for 10 weeks for placing wagers on three Collingwood matches, the Collingwood president pitched a plan for players to come forward and “confess” without penalty.

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“It would be like what happens with the drug code,” McGuire said.

“Clean it up. Clean it up once and for all, start from scratch and then put in as many punitive penalties as you like after that.

“Let’s clean the whole thing up. If you have an amnesty, you put all things down and clean the slate and start again.”

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McGuire said he feared for players who “get themselves into trouble with organised crime by betting outside of football and racking up massive debts, which are then forced to be paid off by doing something on a football ground.”

He said a gambling amnesty for the game’s 850 players would allow players to get help and the competition to recalibrate.

“I know of players, not just now, but over the years who have got themselves into such a mess with gambling,” McGuire said.

“I know we have gambling hotlines and all that sort of stuff but people get themselves into a spiral.

“What we don’t want to do is drive people underground.”

A leading counsellor told the Herald Sun two weeks ago she knew of two current AFL stars who have lost $1 million each on the punt and another 120 players and coaches with gambling issues.

Eddie McGuire wants other players to come forward about their gambling without penalty. Picture: Getty Images

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said he was confident the game did not have a problem with players betting on AFL games.

“I don’t think it’s an issue, and hopefully this (Stephenson case) is an outlier,” McLachlan told Triple M.

“We have a large integrity team, we have relationships with all of the bookmakers and we monitor betting trends.

“We get information and we’re working on that proactively.”

Player union boss Paul Marsh said: “We echo Gillon’s comments on this. We don’t believe there’s a prevalence of AFL players betting on football.

“This was an isolated incident and serves a reminder to everyone in the industry about the seriousness of a breach of these rules.”

Jaidyn Stephenson speaks to the media after he was banned for 10 games. Picture: AAP

Anti-gambling crusader the Rev Tim Costello questioned why Stephenson wasn’t stood down immediately after reporting his indiscretions to Magpie chiefs on May 19, the day after the club’s Round 9 clash with St Kilda.

“If the AFL had any decency or transparency, they would have stood him down straight away. They knew that there was an issue,” Costello said.

“The AFL is Dracula in charge of the blood bank. They want to be Jaidyn’s judge, jury and executioner when they take $10 million a year in sponsorship from BetEasy.

“You can’t just demonise Jaidyn, it sheets back to Gill and the AFL.

“The odds and advertising flashed all over the ground have contributed to all this and are putting the players and their families and friends at risk.”