Australian sport far from incorruptible

SYDNEY - Eight years after disgraced South African captain Hansie Cronje plummeted to his tragic death, cricket’s corruption is about as well concealed as Merv Hughes’s moustache.

According to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, in Australian sport, betting has become the heart and soul.

It is almost impossible to watch or listen to sport on a commercial network without being bombarded with betting information.

Rather than trusting their own judgment about games, media pundits - this one included - lean heavily on the accessible and often sponsored odds-makers’ assessments. Increasingly, punting is the lingua franca of Australian sport.

It could be argued that sport is entitled to grab its piece of the gambling pie.

Sports betting in Australia has exploded.

In May, analysts IBISWorld told the Herald Australians would gamble 2.9 billion dollars on sport in 2009-10 compared with 1.6 billion dollars in 2004-05, with an annual growth of 12 per cent for gambling on sport far more than for the pokies (1.2 per cent) and horse racing (0.5 per cent).

Figures such as these are typically used to demonstrate the potential growth of problem gambling. Equally, they show why a potential cheat might think he can prosper.

Australian sports bodies reason that it is better to keep the money changers - and, as a pleasant consequence, their money - inside the temple; that by signing deals with corporate bookmakers who in turn grant access to gambling records, they are better placed to monitor players and officials. (ANI)