Two clubs from the National Rugby League (NRL) – Canterbury and South Sydney Rabbitohs – have joined a group of sports clubs calling for measures that would distance the sport from the gambling industry by refusing money from gambling operators.
The NRL has become the fifth code to sign up for the Reclaim the Game program released by the Government of the New South Wales (NSW) state. The program is aimed at helping sports fans experience their favourite game without the influence of gambling sponsorships and advertising. So far, 9 clubs across the Australian Football League (AFL), football, cricket and basketball, including the Sydney Kings, the Western Sydney Wanderers, the Sydney Swans, the Sydney Sixers, the Sydney Thunder, the Macarthur FC, have committed to the Reclaim the Game program in an effort to challenge the growing normalisation of gambling as part of sports.
Now, the two aforementioned clubs have officially revealed they will also ban gambling advertising on-ground signage and large screens, and will remove any signs of gambling sponsorship from their club apparel.
As education is considered a crucial element of the initiative, with professional rugby players adding up to the measures aimed at raising Australian people’s awareness of the ongoing normalisation of gambling in the country.
Gambling-Related Harm Has Significant Long-Term Negative Effect on Australian Gamblers
According to data provided by the Government of New South Wales, over 50% of the state’s adult residents gamble on an annual basis.
Also, in 2019, the overall gambling market in Australia was estimated at over AU$225 billion, with online gambling participation rates subject to a sharp increase during the Covid-19 pandemic. The director of the office of responsible gambling at the NSW Government Natalie Wright, online sports betting is currently the fastest-growing form of gambling. Ms Wright also noted that the National Rugby League is the most popular sport to bet on among the adult residents in the state of NSW. The League currently has a huge fan base, which means that the potential exposure of its fans is imminent. Gambling operators, on the other hand, know that visibility is a successful strategy for popularising their services among local customers, which is exactly why they invest so much in their advertising strategies.
Blake Solly, CEO of one of the rugby clubs that have recently joined the Reclaim the Game program of the NSW Government, noted that the local community played a significant role in the club, so the Rabbitohs believed that they needed to support the initiative aimed at reducing the community exposure to sports betting advertising. Mr Solly further noted that, according to a recent survey, gambling-related harm is not the only negative consequence for the community because there are long-term effects on families, too.
The CEO of the Bulldogs, Aaron Warburton, shared that rugby supporters should be given the chance to attend a match without constantly facing gambling advertising.
Both rugby clubs join the Reclaim the Game initiative independently of the National Rugby League, which currently has a partnership agreement with one of the largest sports betting operators in Australia, Sportsbet, and has been linked with gambling advertising as part of the contract.
- Author
Daniel Williams
