Cricket Australia was paid to promote the “surrogate” of a controversial offshore gambling company that is banned by several nations and accused of accepting bets on children’s sport, cockfights and promoting topless casinos.
The sporting body immediately removed the 1xBat logo from its international broadcast of the Boxing Day test match once it confirmed the brand was an affiliate of the controversial gambling company, 1xBet, and the subject of an official warning from the Pakistan government.
The gambling company 1xBet, which is licensed in Curacao, was suspended in the UK in 2019 after the gambling regulator launched an investigation into allegations of regulatory breaches.
Multiple English Premier League clubs including Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs severed ties with 1xBet after the Sunday Times reported it had accepting betting on live streams of cockfighting and promoted online casinos featuring topless women.
The online bookmaker was also among several companies sanctioned by the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, due to its alleged Russian links.
1xBet has been blocked in Australia, where it does not hold a licence to operate.
Late last year, Cricket Australia signed a commercial deal with 1xBat to superimpose its logo on the field of play during the Australia v Pakistan Test series. The ad was broadcast in Pakistan, where gambling was banned and the promotion of so-called surrogate betting companies – where a gambling operator uses another brand for advertising – was illegal.
Shortly before the Boxing Day test, Pakistan’s ministry of information and broadcasting issued a warning about the “unambiguous” presence of surrogate gambling advertising during local coverage of the Perth test match in mid-December. It said the state broadcaster, PTV, had lodged a complaint with Cricket Australia.
But the 1xBat ad continued to be broadcast into Pakistan during the Boxing Day Test match a week later, prompting PTV to stop broadcasting the match until Cricket Australia provided a version without the 1xBat logo.
“Any potential betting partnerships are subject to our integrity process and companies that do not meet the necessary standards are not considered,” a Cricket Australia spokesperson said.
“In this case, the company’s betting affiliation was not immediately revealed to us and the advertising was withdrawn when we were alerted to reputational concerns.”
Cricket Australia initially believed 1xBat was a clothing and content company with no affiliation to offshore gambling.
The deal with 1xBat was struck by an advertising agency, but the sporting body had oversight. Cricket Australia was reviewing its internal processes.
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“When we became aware that a betting advertisement in our world feed used by PTV could cause potential regulatory issues for PTV, the advertisement was removed to ensure that the coverage was reinstated and fans in Pakistan could continue to watch the series,” a Cricket Australia spokesperson said.
According to the Indian government, subsidiaries of 1xBet have been used to promote the brand among cricket fans in the subcontinent. The government has noted the company logos often “bear striking resemblance”.
1xBet and 1xBat were contacted for comment but did not respond before deadline. After the Sunday Times outlined allegations of wrongdoing, 1xBet said it abided by all relevant laws and regulations and cooperated with the UK gambling regulator.
Jack Kerr, a gambling researcher and investigative journalist who has written about 1xBet, said it was “one of the most controversial bookmakers in the world”.
“The minister for sport should be asking Cricket Australia why it is getting schooled in the basics of sports integrity by a cricket association synonymous with match-fixing,” Kerr said, referencing previous scandals involving Pakistan cricket.
The Alliance for Gambling Reform’s chief executive, Carol Bennett, praised Cricket Australia for removing the ads once it realised the link to 1xBet. She said the mistake demonstrated why a national gambling regulator was needed.
“The gambling industry are known to use questionable tactics to push their product in their endeavours to find new markets and without a cop on the beat covering all jurisdictions, its far too easy for these companies to hide in the shadows undetected,” Bennett said.