iGaming Business – The Australian Football League (AFL), the top division of Aussie rules in the country, has announced a number of new initiatives as part of an effort to combat illegal gambling amongst players, coaches and officials.
The AFL’s Gambling Rule has now been extended to prohibit betting on all Aussie rules competitions, as well as just the AFL.
In addition, all players, coaches and officials have been ordered to “perform on their merits” at all times.
The rule change is part of an effort from the AFL to wipe out illegal activity in the sport, with a number of changes having also been made to anti-doping regulations.
For this enhanced effort, the AFL has also announced that Tony Keane, a detective in the Victoria Police Homicide Squad, has been appointed to its Integrity Department.
In his new role, Keane will report directly to senior investigator Gerard Ryan APM as part of the AFL’s expanded investigation team, under the oversight of AFL manager of competition integrity Brett Clothier.
The AFL has also invested in new technological resources for the Integrity Department to help combat illegal activity.
Andrew Dillon, general counsel of the AFL, said: “Following the establishment of the Integrity Unit in 2008, the AFL is determined to remain at the forefront of work to protect the integrity of the game and to keep our players and officials safe from the threats of doping, corruption and organised crime.
“The appointment of these two highly experienced investigators to join our specialist intelligence analysts underlines the commitment of the AFL to continue our proactive stance to counter the emerging integrity risks that face all sports in Australia.”
