It takes a hell of a lot of money to run a successful professional sporting franchise in Australia. Particularly one that doesn’t rely on wealthy private ownership.
So while the financial model of AFL clubs derives a fair chunk of its money from TV broadcast rights, advertising, sponsorship, and selling club memberships, the super cashed-up clubs put themselves ahead of the pack by finding additional revenue streams.
Problem is that, historically, clubs have chased money from somewhat insidious sources, like gambling and poker machines.
Gambling advertising is rife throughout AFL coverage, with segments on odds being woven into game broadcasts and match-day ground entertainment under the guise of advertising.
One AFL club – the league’s richest, in fact – has now taken things a step further by launching their own lottery. And it definitely feels a little bit off.
Earlier this month, the Collingwood Football Club unveiled Magpie Millions – a weekly lottery open to fans, offering the chance to win as much as $2 million. The lottery, an online game, is being run in conjunction with the ASX-listed group Activistic Limited, whose exchange listing cites their core operations as being “a technology company which owns a micro-payments platform providing users with a simple means to make regular donations to charities and other fund raising organisations via their mobile phone.” A subsidiary owned by the company has obtained a gaming license in the Northern Territory, through which the lottery is being run.
The game offers tickets to punters at $2.50 a pop, capped at a $20 spend per week. Collingwood insists that proceeds yielded from the lottery will be put to use through their community and philanthropic ventures.
The murk on this particular issue comes in the timing; sports gambling advertising is reaching saturation-point, and rising concerns are questioning the ethical responsibility of sporting clubs to take a stand against problem gambling.
Western Bulldogs Premiership captain Easton Wood took to Instagram two weeks ago to voice his concerns over the apparent hypocrisy of the AFL, which on one hand runs thorough education for its players that warns them of the pitfalls of problem gambling, but on the other freely allows gambling companies to permeate their workplace.
Further still, it also turns out that Collingwood is one of eight AFL clubs that receives a six-figure sponsorship from the state government-funded Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation.
The VRGF has raised its concerns about the lottery with Collingwood, who is a signatory to the Responsible Gambling Charter, which in part reads:
“By signing this charter, we support separating ‘the game’ from gambling. We will ensure our club is a safe and healthy environment in relation to gambling.”
“We are committed to minimising the exposure of young people to gambling activities and to gambling promotion.”
Magpie Millions, it should be noted, is prominently advertised on the frontpage of Collingwood’s official website.
VRGF boss Craig Swift told the Herald Sun that they have contact the club regarding the lottery, and that “good faith” discussions were on-going.
“Recently, the foundation has been fully briefed on the club’s plans and has frankly raised its concerns in the context of the conditions of the responsible gambling charter. We intend to continue discussing these issues with a view to ensuring that the spirit and meaning of the charter is fulfilled.”
While judging from that the Pies’ sponsorship from the VRGF seems safe (and given that the club already owns 146 poker machines which raked in $11million in individual gambling losses last financial year, it’s hard to see the VRGF taking action now given they’ve been bone silent about that previously) a full-on lottery run by a club is a first for Australian professional sport.
Even though it’s being used for “good,” when it comes to ethical concerns, you can’t help but think the issue isn’t as black and white as the club might hope.
Photo: Adam Trafford, AFL Media/Getty.
