Australian Football League (AFL) clubs are turning their backs on betting sponsorships by signing up to the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation’s ‘Gambling’s Not a Game’ program.
The program which has gained significant political support, aims to remove betting advertising from AFL grounds.
AFL Clubs Hawthorn, Collingwood, North Melbourne, Melbourne Victory, St. Kilde, Essendon, and the Western Bulldogs have announced that they have joined the program.
The clubs have committed to refrain from making sponsorship deals with betting operators targeting fans, as well as keeping gambling away from areas young people are present including club, social and fundraising activities.
“As a high-profile sporting organization and one that operates a gaming venue, we have a responsibility to our supporters and the wider community that we take very seriously and part of that responsibility is to help promote responsible gambling,” said St Kilda CEO Matt Finnis.
Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation chief executive Serge Sardo, the charter is not an anti-gambling message but a commitment to minimize the exposure of gambling activities and advertising to young people.
Sardo added that more than 140 elite and local sporting clubs across Victoria have now joined the foundation’s charter, which started in October 2013 with North Melbourne and Melbourne Victory the first clubs to join, and Collingwood and Hawthorn coming on board in 2014.