Why the people least surprised by the Brownlow Medal betting scandal were the bookies

The Brownlow Medal betting scandal isn’t the first time the bookies have been fleeced when it comes to betting on a major Australian sporting award.

Patrick Cripps won the 2022 Brownlow Medal. Picture: Getty Images

The people least surprised by the Brownlow Medal betting scandal were the bookies, particularly those who used to get routinely fleeced on the iconic Australian of the Year Award.

“It seemed to happen every year,’’ one long-serving sports bookmaker said.

“You would put up the betting on the Australian of the Year which was announced on January 26 and the week before it you just got smashed.

“It’s not a horse race. You can’t do form on it and pick out the reasons why someone would win. To bet with confidence you had to know the result.

“We did a little investigation and found out the winner was picked in early December. That’s a long time to keep a secret, particularly when there are official ceremonies involved.

“Just like the Brownlow scandal the problem was the result had been decided so people obviously knew what they were betting on.’’

Here lies the reason why it’s hard to feel sympathy for any bookmaker who lost money on the Brownlow scam where umpire Michael Pell allegedly leaked the votes on individual games.

If you are silly enough to bet on something where the result has been decided - and at least three people know what it was - you really are boxing with an exposed chin.

Michael Pell was the umpire involved in the Brownlow betting scandal. Picture: AFL Photos

Not that it will stop bookies betting on evictions from reality series which were pre-recorded. It’s a dangerous practice but some don’t care.

“Some bookies consider it a loss leader,’’ another bookmaker said. “You might burn some money but these things get a lot of publicity so it balances out.

“The thing is now there are more than 100 bookmakers in Australia all chasing similar clients. They look for an edge. They take risks with novel bets. Some sail very close to the wind.’’

The one thing to come out of the Brownlow Medal scandal is that betting on votes for individual matches, as opposed to the overall winner, should not be allowed.

Sport has learned from painful experience that it’s often the micro issues that attract the big bets.

When corrupt Indian bookies spread their tentacles into cricket in the 1990s they initially tried to make teams like South Africa throw entire games.

Then they realised that was far too conspicuous so they turned their attention to spot fixing - getting bowlers to bowl no-balls of batsmen dismissed under a certain score.

Sport has reacted to these dirty little sins by quietly plugging the leaks.

In sports betting in Australia you can back a batsman to score above a total but not beneath it so he cannot be induced to fail.

Patrick Cripps won the 2022 Brownlow Medal. Picture: Getty Images

When Canterbury forward Ryan Tandy gave away a penalty to try and land an orchestrated plunge on the first score of a match being a penalty goal, the rules of sports betting on rugby league were changed to ban betting on the first score type.

In the tennis world it was an open secret some players were losing games claiming they were physically injured and duly withdrawing mid-contest after their opponents had been the subject of major betting support.

The rules were changed to demand that the match must be completed without an injury default for bets to stand.

People saying that umpires should no longer do the Brownlow voting have missed the point. Someone has to vote on it. It might as well be them. Any panel is subject to leaks.

The system seems to work generally well but it doesn’t change the fact that if you bet on an event where the outcome is decided, human nature will occasionally corrupt the system.

Originally published as Why the people least surprised by the Brownlow Medal betting scandal were the bookies