Across Australia, it is important for gaming operators and bookmakers to take the utmost care in discouraging underage gambling. This means ensuring that advertisements, services and products are not targeted towards young people – but one gaming company is in hot water after a betting ad was targeted towards internet users as young as 12. According to a report in The Age, the advertisement was run on AFL.com.au.

CrownBet, the league’s official sponsor, placed an ad on the site to promote an upcoming competition. It was intended for the advertisement to be viewable only by visitors over the age of 18, but a computer bug made it available to view by individuals who are much younger. The advertisement in question was a large panel displaying CrownBet’s odds for upcoming matches.

It featured a large button that said “Bet Now”. After complaints from several visitors, the AFL took the advertisement down last week. The league states that it was entirely unintentional, blaming a glitch for the error. This is an unfortunate time for this incident to occur, as the AFL is currently involved in several betting scandals.

Jack Crisp was recently fined $5000 for placing just over $100 in bets on AFL matches, while another official has been suspended after his account was used to place wagers on league matches. Now is the time for the AFL to begin taking a more active role responsible gambling advocacy.

Advertising in the league has been blamed for encouraging punters to spend more on betting than they can afford, encouraging the development of problem gambling habits. As more betting scandals continue to come out of the woodwork, the AFL must ensure that it promotes responsible gambling among players and punters.

About the Author

George Anderson
Author George, has over 25+ years’ experience in the Pokies and Casinos industry throughout Australia and New Zealand. Loves to research new Pokies games on the block and follows announcements from top industry providers about their upcoming releases. As soon as a new interesting pokie game appears on his radar, George is there to check it out and give you the scoop before anyone else and tell you about all casino sites where can play the latest game. Before this gig, George worked as Pokie game tester, making him an ideal candidate for this genre of work. He is also an animal lover and a proud owner of three dogs.