Aussie Rules has seen another of their number strung up for betting. Dean Wallis, assistant coach at Essendon, received a 14-match ban and $7,500 fine as it was found that he bet on the sport three times. The AFL moved to reiterate that there was misuse of his position as coach and football operations manager Adrian Anderson commented, “(Although) there is no evidence of corrupt activity or misuse of insider information, on the other hand this is a very, very serious matter.
“Firstly because Dean was initially untruthful; secondly because this involves a bet on Dean’s own club; thirdly that the size of the bets were not unsubtantial; and finally, now more than ever, there is no excuse for an AFL coach not to be aware that he must not bet on AFL games, let alone his own team.”
Wallis placed three quad bets over a three-month period. Only one was placed on his own team on August 6 with a $100 bet for them to win. The other bets were $200 placed at Bendigo TAB on August 27 and another for $100 in June or July. The rules are clear that you aren’t allowed to bet on your own sport so it begs the question as to why, if they want to gamble, they don’t just wager on the other sports that exist in the country.
Wallis commented, “I take full responsibility for my actions. I should be a role model to the players.
“I will pay the price for my stupid decision. I will not let this club down again and it will not happen again.”
Victoria, the state in which they have already started to crack down on match fixing, is where Wallis’ club is based. There is obviously no suggestion that fixing took place here. It does show that any breach of rules with regards betting won’t be taken lightly
The attitude towards betting on sports has fitted in with the government’s continual crackdown on all parts of the gambling industry. Spot betting and Exotic bets have been held up by some as the root cause of some problems and even led the NRL to ban them outright. The AFL has taken more of a lenient stance and you feel that in the wake of the latest scandals, they could become the next league to tighten betting rules. Meanwhile the government, as we have continually pointed out, should listen to what Dr Patrick Basham has to say.
