Aussie sports betting crisis spurs demands for online gambling report

The dual threats of drugs and corruption in Aussie sports has prompted calls for the federal government to release its review of the nation’s online gambling laws, according to a Sydney Morning Herald article which appeared on Friday.

The article claims that the most popular sports and clubs in Australia receive many millions of dollars in sponsorship from betting companies, many of which are involved in online sports betting.

Last financial year, Australians wagered A$26 billion on racing and sports, according to a Tabcorp report. Of that, only A$4 billion was bet on sports.

The SMH report notes that a Deloitte study of sports betting last year, commissioned by Sportsbet.com.au, found that in 2011 AFL (football) and NRL (rugby) betting accounted for half of all sports betting, with the AFL the largest at A$900 million a year in turnover. In the NRL, it was A$750 million.

Deloitte forecast that within five years turnover in both sports would double. It also estimated that in 2011 gross profit for the industry was 4.5 per cent.

Media questions on how much sponsorship and cuts of bets placed through their intellectual property the main sports received each year from betting companies were largely unanswered, although the NRL said it received more than A$2 million, with its individual clubs receiving unspecified amounts.

However, the newspaper notes that recent media reports had revealed that major Australian bookie, Tom Waterhouse, had stumped up almost A$50 million to become the NRL’s official betting partner.

How much TAB.com.au paid for a similar relationship with the AFL is not disclosed in the article.