Category Archives: AFL

‘Time is running out’: Sportsbet offered share of $1m in bonus bets if customers gambled on AFL grand final day

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Online bookmaker’s offer, one of a series texted during finals, was valid only if customer took up a suggested same-game multi bet

Australia’s largest online bookmaker texted customers offering a guaranteed share of $1m in bonus bets if they gambled on the morning of the AFL grand final.

The messages were among a series texted to a Victorian man’s phone by Sportsbet during the AFL finals series in an apparent attempt to entice him to gamble more.

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Sportsbet advertises multi-bets on AFL website after pulling TV ads due to ‘community sentiment’

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Ads encouraging sport fans to ‘bet now’ do not breach any rules but gambling reform advocates say it shows industry attempts to self-regulate have failed

The gambling giant Sportsbet has splashed ads for its expanded same-game multi-bets on the AFL’s website, months after pulling them from free-to-air broadcasts due to “strong community sentiment”.

The ads, which reveal Sportsbet now accepts same-game multi-bets on how many possessions a player acquires during a match, encouraged people to “bet now” and surrounded the AFL homepage.

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Sacked Melbourne lawyer who chucked sickie to go to the AFL loses bid to get his job back

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Fair Work Commission finds Mitchell Fuller was not unfairly dismissed for taking a sick day while at the AFL Gather Round in Adelaide

A Melbourne lawyer who pulled a sickie so he could attend the AFL Gather Round in South Australia has failed in a bid to get his job back after his own social media posts proved he was fit for work.

The Fair Work Commission found this week that Mitchell Fuller, who was fired as a solicitor with Madison Branson Lawyers in August last year, was not unfairly dismissed.

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Gambling companies threaten to ramp up betting promotions to counter AFL revenue grab

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Exclusive: Critics say inducements are harmful and urge a ban as recommended by Murphy inquiry

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Gambling companies are preparing to ramp up their use of harmful inducements that encourage people to spend more money, in response to the AFL’s push for a bigger slice of gambling revenue.

Earlier this week, Guardian Australia revealed AFL executives had cited concerns about serious shortcomings in the integrity system to justify a campaign to seize a bigger share of money gambled on its games.

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AFL admits it has lost control of online gambling oversight amid spike in ‘integrity risks’

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Exclusive: Leaked documents reveal the AFL struggles to detect if players are using inside information to manipulate betting markets, despite close ties to industry

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The AFL has admitted its integrity system for online gambling is seriously deficient and struggles to identity whether players, coaches and staff are using inside information to manipulate betting markets, in breach of their contracts.

Leaked documents seen by Guardian Australia reveal executives have expressed alarm about an “unprecedented” increase in “integrity risks” posed by the wagering industry, which has exploded in popularity since the pandemic with more than 80 bookmakers now taking bets on its games.

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AFL plan to extract more money from gambling faces potential legal challenge

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Exclusive: Bookmakers consider fighting proposal to increase fees from 0.9% to 1.5% of turnover from most bets

The AFL’s bid to secure a bigger share of gambling losses – despite public health warnings and criticism of sports betting – faces a potential legal challenge from bookmakers who believe it is already taking too much.

A draft proposal sent to bookmakers shows the AFL wants to significantly increase the cut it takes from bets placed on its matches. The cut, known as a product fee, is a percentage of a bookmaker’s turnover or revenue, whichever is highest.

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Richmond Tigers player Noah Balta charged with assault after incident in country NSW

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Footballer who signed a seven-year AFL deal in October has been charged after 30 December incident in Riverina town of Mulwala

Richmond Tigers star Noah Balta has been charged with assault after an incident in country New South Wales.

The AFL club has released a brief statement to confirm a media report that the defender had been charged.

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Major football codes and gambling firms directly lobbied Albanese’s office on ad ban, documents show

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NRL, AFL and betting companies intensified efforts to try to influence PM in lead-up to finals

Newly released documents show how in the lead-up to footy finals the NRL, AFL and major wagering companies accelerated and intensified their efforts to directly lobby the prime minister’s office to influence a proposed gambling ad ban.

The gambling industry’s peak body sought to bypass the responsible minister and discuss ad ban issues directly with Anthony Albanese, according to documents tabled in parliament on Friday, which revealed details of letters, emails and meeting agendas and memos.

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Noise from new Hobart AFL stadium will ruin symphony orchestra’s historic concert hall, CEO fears

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Caroline Sharpen says ‘there’s no precedent in the world’ for a concert hall having to deal with 23,000-seat stadium just 170 metres from its stage

The $775m bid to bring an Aussie Rules team to Tasmania will place the state’s symphony orchestra in an unenviable world-first position, which could threaten its future existence.

The plan to build a home for the newly formed Tasmanian Devils AFL team will see a 23,000 seat capacity sports and music stadium constructed on a historic Hobart foreshore site just 40 metres from the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra’s purpose-built performing and recording headquarters, the Federation Concert Hall.

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Carlton coach Michael Voss makes citizen’s arrest after alleged thief flees Melbourne car crash

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‘It was a bit of action,’ AFL coach says after detaining 16-year-old in Hawthorn who allegedly ran from Mercedes that had flipped on to side

Carlton coach Michael Voss has made a citizen’s arrest after seeing an alleged car thief try and flee after they allegedly crashed a stolen car in the Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn.

The AFL coach was at a cafe on Tuesday morning when the Mercedes flipped on its side on a footpath after crashing.

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Collingwood to fight fresh racism allegations by former head of First Nations strategy

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Calls for reigning AFL premiers to be stripped of points as the club faces fresh racism allegations in court

Collingwood will defend themselves against serious allegations of racism filed in court, insisting the club has acted lawfully.

The AFL has been urged to strip the Magpies of premiership points should explosive claims be proven.

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Former AFL player Eddie Betts shares video of racist abuse hurled at children playing in yard

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Victoria police launch investigation after Indigenous star posts CCTV footage on Instagram and states ‘Aboriginal kids deserve to be able to play safely’

Victoria police are investigating after Indigenous AFL great Eddie Betts shared footage of children being racially abused in their own yard while stating “we are not even safe in our own homes”.

Betts shared security camera footage on social media on Thursday night showing a white car driving down a street before slowing down in front of a home. A person then yells out racial slurs.

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Australia news live: wages rise by 4.2% over 2023 in highest growth since 2009; flight cancellation crackdown

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Transport minister Catherine King unveils overhaul to legislation governing Sydney airport, to significantly increase transparency over allocation of take-off and landing slots. Follow the day’s news live

Man dies after electric unicycle crash in Victoria

A man has died after crashing his electric unicycle in Bellfield yesterday evening.

We have concerns for his health. We have been working consistently since coming to government, particularly behind-the-scenes, to say that we believe Mr Assange should be returned … These sort of issues of diplomacy are not always best done through a megaphone, but we will continue to advocate for an end to this and see Mr Assange returned home.

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Melbourne AFL player Joel Smith accused of cocaine trafficking

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The utility has been charged with three anti-doping violations by Sports Integrity Australia

Suspended Melbourne AFL utility Joel Smith has been accused of trafficking or attempted trafficking of cocaine by Sports Integrity Australia.

Smith has been provisionally suspended since October, when he was notified of a positive cocaine test following the Demons’ round-20 win over Hawthorn on 20 August.

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Brisbane v the Olympics: Gabba shambles shows people power is hitting the 2032 Games

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The speed of recent pivots reveals there is genuine concern that people are uneasy about the Games amid rising housing and cost of living pressures

Denver, Colorado, is the only place to ever cancel the Olympic Games. The city had won the right to host the 1976 Winter Games, but withdrew amid mounting local opposition.

“We ought to say to the nation and the world, ‘We’re sorry … we made a mistake. Take the Games elsewhere,” state representative Bob Jackson told the Associated Press in 1971.

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Thousands rally in solidarity on Invasion Day in Melbourne, Sydney; AFL clubs call for 26 January date change – as it happened

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Australian and Aboriginal flags raised during Canberra ceremony

Following the welcome to country, the flag-raising ceremony has begun, with six flags raised including two Australian flags, two Aboriginal flags and two Torres Strait Islander flags.

Australia is home to the oldest continuous culture on Earth, 65,000 years of uninterrupted heritage, demonstrated by the unique archeological evidence found in the very ground that you may are sitting on, found in the rocks and stones of this very place. That makes this continent unique in the whole world.

Ngunnawal’s view of heritage transcends time, it is our way of being with nature, best expressed in the Ngunnawal language through the concepts of respect and deep honour, coming together in the wellbeing for all.

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Treated as ‘product’: new AFL and AFLW players shown how to cope with gambling fallout

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About 100 young athletes learn their contractual responsibilities and how wagering companies operate in session organised by the players association

It was 2020, the world was still coming to terms with the Covid pandemic, and Mitch Robinson was not happy.

“Public announcement!” the then AFL player tweeted. “Not one AFL player gives a flying f*** how we cost you a $100 multi, it’s $5 bet you idiot. If you’re struggling with that amount please don’t punt in the first place.

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Plan for 20,000-seat stadium to temporarily replace Gabba kicks off Queensland funding row

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Labor announces it will commit $46m towards $137m cost of upgrading Ekka showgrounds

A proposal to upgrade Brisbane’s showgrounds with a temporary 20,000-seat stadium – to act as the city’s home of AFL and cricket while the Gabba is rebuilt – has quickly become a political football.

The Queensland government announced on Friday it would commit $46m to create the temporary stadium but requested the remaining $91m cost be shared between Brisbane city council, AFL and cricket authorities and the Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland, which runs the annual Ekka show at the venue.

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Western Bulldogs to pay $5.9m to child sexual abuse victim over paedophile access

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AFL club Western Bulldogs negligent in giving paedophile fundraiser special access to victim in the 1980s, supreme court finds

An Australian rules football club will pay out almost $6m to a child sexual abuse victim after it was found negligent in giving a paedophile special access to the boy.

A supreme court civil jury on Thursday delivered its verdict against the Western Bulldogs over the abuse of Adam Kneale at the hands of a club fundraiser, following a four-week trial.

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Pokies venues owned by AFL clubs claim renovations and pay tv subscriptions as ‘community benefit’

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Venues owned by four clubs legally claimed a total of $8.6m in operating costs under Victorian scheme

Poker machine venues owned by AFL clubs have been spending millions of dollars in revenue on themselves – from kitchen renovations to Foxtel subscriptions – while claiming the costs as a community benefit to lower their tax bill.

Eight venues, owned by Carlton, Essendon, Richmond and St Kilda, collectively spent $8.6m on operating costs last year, legally claiming it under the state’s community benefits scheme.

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