CA mulls ban on betting segments during match broadcasts

Sydney: Cricket Australia (CA) is considering banning betting segments during its telecasts from the next season as part of a new five-year broadcast deal which is expected to be finalised next month. This new revelation, following the recent report by the Australian Crime Commission linking drugs, match-fixing and organised crime in professional sport in the country, has been discussed by CA CEO James Sutherland.

Sutherland said CA will closely investigate the betting segments during sporting broadcasts. Sutherland, who is also the head of the Coalition of Major Professional and Participation Sports that includes cricket, AFL, rugby league, rugby union, football, tennis and netball, added that CA has consulted with Channel Nine over appropriate presentations of the betting segments. Sutherland insisted that the betting segments are not part of the game being played, and added that the segments appear only during breaks, which are technically allowed so as to make choices about who the segments promote and what organisations endorse their products. Stating that the government would have a greater level of scrutiny over the segments than CA, Sutherland, however, claimed that dealing with legal bookmakers had been beneficial for sport, saying that the level of connection between the sports and the licensed betting operators is an asset in an integral sense. Sutherland said that CA is capable of controlling the types of bets made by the licensed betting operators, and added that the operators are compelled to share the information with the organisation so that investigation can be done during any suspicious cricket betting. Despite cricket battling illegal betting and match-fixing for two decades CA has Bet 365 as a commercial partner, which also has an arrangement with Nine. ANI