Sydney Swans forward Tom Papley may have to revamp his content after the AFL star’s top-rating punting show got the NSW Office of Responsible Gambling offside.
Papley, 27, who has previously stated he is ‘obsessed’ with betting, hosts a podcast dubbed ‘The Early Crow’ with professional gambler Jack Dickens.
The duo discuss an array of topics – notably AFL and horse racing – where they go on to reveal their personal friendships with jockeys, market movers and preferred track locations.
Their podcast launched last week, and while it was an instant ratings hit, Papley is now tipped to considerably tweak what listeners hear.
‘While there is no affiliation between the Swans and [Papley] podcast, we have raised concerns directly with the Swans, who are treating the matter very seriously,’ a spokesperson for the Office of Responsible Gambling said on Wednesday.
Sydney Swans star forward Tom Papley may have to revamp his podcast content after his top rating punting show caught the attention of the NSW Office of Responsible Gambling
Papley was quick to state on his podcast he never bets on AFL games, as it would be a direct breach of his playing contract.
In 2019, then Collingwood star Jaidyn Stephenson was banned for 10 matches and handed a $20,000 fine for betting on three games that involved the Magpies.
While Papley isn’t expected to be sanctioned, a recent podcast episode involving Swans teammate Nick Blakey did raise plenty of eyebrows.
One line from Papley about horse racing in particular would have stunned club officials: ‘When the gates open, if your a**e doesn’t quiver just a little bit, you haven’t had enough on.’
Papley also is a regular on SEN’s radio show The Track.
The Swans, famed for their ‘No Dickhead’ player policy, are also partnered with GambleAware and the Reclaim the Game initiative, which aims to tackle the ‘normalising’ of sports betting in society.
Papley’s love of a punt is well-known – but the Swans also know they need to protect their corporate partners, which includes GambleAware
Sydney Swans chairman Andrew Pridham stressed it was important that Papley learns from the experience.
‘We have spoken to Tom,’ he told News Corp. ‘We obviously have a lot of corporate partners and GambleAware is one of them.
‘It’s important to us that we respect those corporate partners.
‘Anyone that’s associated with the club and what they’re doing in relation to our brand – we can’t control what people do outside of our brand, everyone is a free citizen…. but it is important everyone demonstrates alignment with what we support.’