Former New Zealand cricket player and current head coach of the England Cricket Test team Brendon McCullum has been in hot water in the past few weeks over his involvement with a betting company. Due to his role in a controversial social media post promoting 22Bet, McCullum’s recent actions were reviewed by a cricket governing body.
As the former cricket player has dissociated himself from the Cyprus-based betting company, it also has become clear that he was not breaching the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) anti-corruption code. The governing body also announced that McCullum will face no further consequences over his participation in 22Bet’s controversial ad campaigns.
Last month, McCullum shared a video on his official Facebook page, with the post promoting 22Bet’s Indian Premier League markets before the season had started. This was just one of the promotional materials that McCullum has participated in as the new ambassador of 22Bet.
McCullum Comes Under Scrutiny Due to His Involvement with Betting Company
Recently, the New Zealander was seen in an ad promoting the betting brand, prompting viewers to join 22Bet and redeem one of the company’s Welcome Offers. The ad was distributed on the video-sharing platform YouTube but was heavily targeting New Zealand viewers. This quickly became an issue as online gambling is still not legalized in the land of Kiwis and 22Bet has not been licensed to offer its services to individuals residing in New Zealand.
The New Zealand Problem Gambling Foundation issued an official complaint, demanding the removal of the ad. However, as YouTube does not fall under the category of a typical media outlet for content distribution, local authorities could not take any action against the ad. Despite that, Google, YouTube’s parent company, took it upon themselves to review the ad and decided to take it down as it did not comply with Google’s guidelines.
As for McCullum’s Facebook post promoting cricket markets, under the ECB code, players, coaches, or officials are not allowed to take part or prompt others to participate in match betting. This was the reason why McCullum’s relationship with the betting company 22Bet was reviewed by the governing body.
On Wednesday, the ECB made an announcement considering the case, stating that McCullum has done nothing to breach the body’s code as it does not prevent players, coaches, or officials from signing brand ambassador contracts with betting companies. According to the ECB, there was no reason for the cricket coach to face any further action.
A spokesperson for the ECB ensured that they have been discussing the issue with McCullum, considering this case “from an employer and regulator perspective”. It was also reported that the former cricket player and current head coach of the England Cricket Team will discuss with the ECB any future involvement with 22Bet.
- Author
Daniel Williams
