AFL and NRL bosses front federal inquiry into online gambling

Outgoing AFL boss Gillon McLachlan has fronted a federal probe into gambling harm amid calls to crack down on betting.

Outgoing AFL chief executive Gil McLachlan has stared down calls to ban gambling advertising and warned cutting ties with online bookmakers would result in an irreversible financial hit to the game.

The Aussie rules boss appeared before a federal parliamentary inquiry into online gambling alongside NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo on Tuesday, where MPs pressed the two leaders on their sports’ ties to the wagering industry.

The probe comes amid a push from politicians, health experts, gambling addicts and AFL fans to crack down on gambling ads, as well as broader questions around the code’s partnerships with sports betting companies that now underpin much of the game.

Mr McLachlan told the inquiry he thought the review was timely and he acknowledged the risks of gambling harm, but he said “over-regulating” betting ads or restricting gambling sponsorship associated with the AFL would compromise the game.

He disputed an assertion from Labor MP and committee chair Peta Murphy that AFL would be able to find other sponsors to replace betting companies if they had to.

“I don’t take that premise as being as being real. I understand the theory of it,” Mr McLachlan said.

Mr McLachlan said cutting ties with gambling sponsors would result in a funding shortfall that would amount to an almost entire net financial loss because betting companies couldn’t easily be replaced with other sponsorship categories.

AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan has fronted a parliamentary inquiry into online gambling.

The inquiry was presented with the results of the latest annual AFL Fans Association survey of 3000 people which uncovered a surge of opposition to the game’s association with sports betting.

Seventy-six per cent of respondents thought gambling advertising should be banned from broadcast television and radio and 79 per cent wanted gambling advertising to be banned from AFL grounds.

Sixty-seven per cent of those surveyed agreed AFL clubs should not receive money from pokies revenue or gambling advertising.

Sixty-two per cent of respondents agreed the AFL should not receive any revenue from gambling and 44 per cent agree that gambling on AFL matches should not be allowed online.

Mr McLachlan reiterated his opposition to outlawing gambling advertising in Australia altogether, saying a ban would drive the betting industry “offshore and underground” and make it even tougher to regulate.

He also appeared to walk back comments he made last month in an interview on 3AW Radio about there being “probably too much” gambling advertising associated with the AFL.

NRL CEO Andrew Abdo also appeared at the hearing. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Swift

In the interview on March 17, Mr McLachlan said: “I think there is probably too much, yeah. I don’t have a problem that other people do around wagering, I just think the volume is too much. It’s in your face.”

“I think, broadly, there is a hell of a lot of wagering advertising and potentially too much. But we don’t believe in prohibition, so it’s about what the right balance is.”

As Ms Murphy asked Mr McLachlan about the interview at the inquiry on Tuesday, the AFL boss said he wanted to clarify his remarks and had been taking about inducements rather than the ads themselves.

“If you want my specific views, I don’t believe the brand advertising is too much. I think the inducements are a problem,” he said.

“I think this broad discussion needs to be nuanced and that’s why if you look at what we did proactively, there is brand advertising restricted to advertisers at venues but there are not inducements … I think that’s what our fans

Gambling inducements incentivise punters to keep betting through free bets or money back offers and are usually already subject to strict regulations.

The inquiry has heard evidence about a wide range of gambling harms beyond the immediate financial consequences, including psychological and physical damage and the negative effect problem betting can have on relationships and families.