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Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission will ban all betting on sports under the age of 19 and on individual athletes under 18 years old in junior and senior sport.
The VGCCC stated in a letter sent to all major sports organizations and sports betting providers last week that it “determines that allowing betting on minors would be contrary to public interest, and could pose integrity and gambling-related harm concerns.”
This includes the vulnerability of minors when it comes to strategies that seek to undermine the integrity and fairness of a sporting competition, as well as the normalisation of gambling at events involving young children.
The ban prohibits betting on:
- All-minors sporting events
- sporting events for under-19s
- Open events with minors playing means that a bet may be placed on an “open event” team, but not on specific outcomes for the players who are younger than 18 years.
This ban also includes betting on individual outcomes, such as the “first goal in a game”, “most throws”, or “first wicket”, when players are minors. In senior sports, bets can be placed on the team’s outcome when minors are playing.
VGCCC has instructed sports controlling bodies – sporting organisations that regulate, control and approve betting on their sport – to change their agreements with betting companies to prohibit minors from betting.
The VGCCC also institutes the same ban on any other sport that is not governed or controlled by a sports controlling body.
The bodies that control all major sports and gambling providers have 60 days to comply. After this, it will be illegal to accept bets placed on individual games or outcomes of sports betting events involving players under 18 in a team.
Fran Thorn, chair of the VGCCC, said: “The notion that it’s okay to bet minors is just not tenable. Minors are entitled to protection, according to us. This raises issues of integrity, as people may try to influence minors’ behavior when playing sports.
If sports controlling body and betting providers fail to comply with our decision, we may take action. This could include revoking approval for sports controlling bodies or prosecuting betting provider.
The letters say: “The VGCCC believes that betting on sporting events that are contingent upon the performance of a minor is against the public interest.”
It will be illegal to place bets on outcomes such as “first goal of the match”, “most disposals” or “first player to catch a cricket ball”, if the outcome is related to a player who is a minor. To avoid any doubt, Ms Thorn stated that bets could still be placed on an open team’s performance.
