Gambling’s share of NRL revenue could well double. That brings power – Sydney Morning Herald

Another reason for this coyness has been that the people who run sports tend to hold their nose with one hand while holding the other out, behind their backs, to collect their gambling receipts. There is not a lot of pride from cricket and football about their partnerships with betting companies. There are billboards aplenty, and the advertising is impossible to avoid, but the administrators public spin draws our attention to how they are working so hard to protect children from seeing all those ads, to limit the spread of exotic betting products and sinister data-gathering, and to counter the corruption that gambling brings into sport as surely as night follows day.

Bryce Cartwright's Gold Coast Titans are sponsored by bookmaker Neds, one of several tie-ins the NRL has with the gambling industry.Credit:AAP

But this prim hypocrisy is the behaviour of times of plenty. Big sports can make out like they dont have a gambling addiction when their dependency is diluted by other sources of income. When money is rolling in from TV stations, corporate sponsors and fans buying tickets and merchandise, the sports are in a strong enough position to moderate the ambitions and the intrusiveness of their gambling partners.

So what happens when all that other income dries up, while the betting companies are still standing tall?

Take the NRL as an example. Last year its wagering and sponsorship revenue accounted for $84 million, not a large chunk of the $556 million the NRL earned, but still the second-biggest item behind broadcast rights. Now lets look into the future. Last years $55 million in game-day receipts can be just about written off this year. The $348 million in cash and contra provided by broadcasters could drop, according to reports, by more than $100 million depending on the outcome of negotiations between the league, Nine and Fox Sports.

Digital revenue ($24 million) and merchandise royalties ($12 million) are wet finger in the wind stuff; the question is not whether they will be down, only how far. When the games total revenue falls below $400 million, that gambling money begins to look more and more juicy, and the gambling companies become louder and more influential voices. (Leagues $84 million, by the way, does not include direct sponsorships of clubs and facilities by betting companies. Sportsbet has been showering NRL clubs with payments, as the ABCs 7.30 program recently revealed, and we are so used to stadiums carrying the bastard names of betting products most of us have stopped noticing.)

Racing is a vehicle for punting. The betting industry sees all sports in those terms.

Gambling revenue contributed approximately one-eighth of the dollars going into the overall rugby league industry last year. This year and next, its relative contribution might approach one-quarter. That brings power.

Illustration: Simon LetchCredit:

So in walks Peter Vlandys, who has already moved the games centre of gravity from management to board, from everywhere, in short, to himself. His effectiveness is beyond question. He can, and will, deserve credit for wrestling league back onto the field ahead of everyone else. He might end up wearing yellow and doing the refereeing while hes at it. As the chief executive of Racing NSW, he is also, axiomatically, a friend to the gambling industry. Racing is a vehicle for punting. The betting industry sees all sports in those terms.

How do we think Chairman Pete will respond to the coming outcry about the surge in gambling promotion in rugby league? What about the collection of analytics and other private information about NRL digital subscribers? Is every community development officer, every grassroots grant, every referee, every womens club, every hearts-and-minds project, every one of those threatened ventures outside of rugby leagues core business going to be held hostage to the greater good of maximising revenue? And if governments try to step in to control the excesses of gambling in rugby league, and they are up against Peter Vlandys and Sportsbet, who do you think is going to win that argument? Wanna bet? (Hint: we already know, so the markets are closed.)

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Australians piss away sorry, enjoy the thrill of losing - $24 billion a year on gambling. Online punting only accounts for 5 per cent of this, though its proportion has shot up during the pandemic, even in sports betting, where companies have offered odds on esports and horse racing, which have been able to carry on through the lockdown. When league and other sports get going again, prepare for a celebratory orgy of betting and betting advertising.

Im not a gambler myself, but if I had to take a punt on which way sports will turn when they come under pressure from their wagering partners, the most prosperous of all their corporate mates, I know who Id have my money on.

Malcolm Knox is a journalist, author and columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald.

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Gambling's share of NRL revenue could well double. That brings power - Sydney Morning Herald