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Brownlow betting probe


Willmoy1947

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I assume the thread relates to this:  four-men-arrested-over-suspicious-brownlow-medal-betting

"The investigation, alongside Sport Integrity Australia and the AFL, has focused on the illegal release of umpire votes from matches through the home-and-away season.

Victoria Police alleged in a statement that a person with knowledge of the voting tally distributed the information to a group of people known to them".

It may not have been an umpire. 

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There is a simple solution to this: make sports betting on categories where one person has full control or could have specific inside knowledge illegal, and only allow betting on categories where integrity cannot be entirely compromised by a single persons action.

So for Brownlow bet on player total, club totals and overall winners. No one person can know these outcomes unless envelopes are compromised, widespread collusion, etc. For individual match votes you could even have betting before that match has commenced but not after.

Bad luck if it reduces overall categories.

Edited by deanox
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5 minutes ago, deanox said:

There is a simple solution to this: make sports betting on categories where one person has full control or could have specific inside knowledge illegal, and only allow betting on categories where integrity cannot be entirely compromised by a single persons action.

So for Brownlow bet on player total, club totals and overall winners. No one person can know these outcomes unless envelopes are compromised, widespread collusion, etc. For individual match votes you could even have betting before that match has commenced but not after.

Bad luck if it reduces overall categories.

Can you be sure the votes are all in sealed envelopes? These charges increase my suspicion that that isn't the case. Might also explain the ludicrous appeals in the Cripps case. 

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13 minutes ago, deanox said:

There is a simple solution to this: make sports betting on categories where one person has full control or could have specific inside knowledge illegal, and only allow betting on categories where integrity cannot be entirely compromised by a single persons action.

So for Brownlow bet on player total, club totals and overall winners. No one person can know these outcomes unless envelopes are compromised, widespread collusion, etc. For individual match votes you could even have betting before that match has commenced but not after.

Bad luck if it reduces overall categories.

If that were to happen, the betting would still happen but just be with illegal bookmakers. The likely reason these arrests occurred was because legalised betting means the licensed betting operators have agreements with the AFL Integrity Unit (I know, an oxymoron) to share information of concern. Presumably, one or more of the bookies identified suspicious patterns and alerted the AFL to the problem. 

In short, banning the bet type might actually make things worse. 

Edited by La Dee-vina Comedia
typo
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2 minutes ago, sue said:

Can you be sure the votes are all in sealed envelopes? These charges increase my suspicion that that isn't the case. Might also explain the ludicrous appeals in the Cripps case. 

I'll take a punt and suggest there are no envelopes at all and that the votes are lodged through some online process. We'll know if that's the case next year when some Russian hackers threaten to release the votes before the Awards night unless the AFL pays a multi-million dollar ransom.

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  • Grapeviney changed the title to Brownlow betting probe

The fact that an umpire has been arrested in relation to this makes it an absolutely huge story. If they were involved in this sort of corrupt behavior, what else might it have extended to? The voting process itself? Decisions on the field that may have influenced betting lines in games? Decisions that may have influenced games entirely?

Naturally, not making any direct allegations but it throws their entire umpiring career into dispute 

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Just now, Seraph said:

The fact that an umpire has been arrested in relation to this makes it an absolutely huge story. If they were involved in this sort of corrupt behavior, what else might it have extended to? The voting process itself? Decisions on the field that may have influenced betting lines in games? Decisions that may have influenced games entirely?

Naturally, not making any direct allegations but it throws their entire umpiring career into dispute 

very true. 

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Well the AFL is known for being the bastion of integrity, honesty and accountability.

Who could have possibly foreseen this ever happening!

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13 minutes ago, Seraph said:

The fact that an umpire has been arrested in relation to this makes it an absolutely huge story. If they were involved in this sort of corrupt behavior, what else might it have extended to? The voting process itself? Decisions on the field that may have influenced betting lines in games? Decisions that may have influenced games entirely?

Naturally, not making any direct allegations but it throws their entire umpiring career into dispute 

Arnold Rothstein isn't still alive, is he?

(Google him)

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4 minutes ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

Arnold Rothstein isn't still alive, is he?

(Google him)

Hahah well done LDC!

The infamous World Series did spring to my mind when I posted above but I did not remember the key figure's name.

I was thinking an Australian equivalent might be fixing the Melbourne Cup or The Boxing Day Test

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I have always believed the Brownlow has been thoroughly corrupted by gambling and criminal activity for a very long time. Now I am more convinced. Without going into the dark side we have openly witnessed mental gymnastics worthy of a cross between Gary Kasparov, Olga Korbut and Einstein to get Cripps off his damning tribunal charges. 

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