It was 2020, the world was still coming to terms with the Covid pandemic, and Mitch Robinson was not happy.
“Public announcement!” the then AFL player tweeted. “Not one AFL player gives a flying f*** how we cost you a $100 multi, it’s $5 bet you idiot. If you’re struggling with that amount please don’t punt in the first place.
“Death threats & ‘hope you do your ACL next game’ … won’t pay you out either.”
More than three years after a group of players came forward about the abuse they faced from gamblers, about 100 new AFL and AFLW players were at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium this week for a special training session.
There, they were shown how wagering companies operate, and shown how they could prepare for being treated as “product” by some gamblers, during a session organised by the AFL Players Association.
The AFLPA general manager, Ben Smith, said the session was designed to ensure new players were aware of their contractual responsibilities while also teaching them how the gambling industry functions.
“As a professional athlete, there are very specific obligations the players need to be aware of in terms of betting on the game itself,” Smith said. “But we are also starting some behavioural education as well.”
Smith said the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation provided advice on “the data that surrounds gambling and how betting agencies operate so they are aware of the landscape”.
A VRGF spokesperson said the new athletes would soon “face the pressure of being constantly bombarded by gambling ads as consumers as well as being a ‘product’ on which people bet”.
“It is important to provide them with the facts about the risks and harms associated with gambling and equip them with the skills to think critically about gambling and navigate the complexities of their situation,” the spokesperson said.
This is the first time that AFLW players have joined the AFLPA’s pre-season training session with male athletes.
“In the past, gambling ads have primarily targeted young men, but we are noticing a shift in promotions that seek to appeal to young women as well as part of a new focus on this untapped market,” the VRGF spokesperson said.
On the same day Robinson tweeted about gamblers, the then Bulldogs forward Josh Bruce reported receiving more than 30 abusive messages based predominately around gambling each week.
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Smith said players were still receiving abuse from gamblers on social media but stressed the fact athletes were willing to publicly call it out showed their increasing awareness.
“What has been pleasing is that players are more comfortable standing up voicing their opinion about inappropriate abuse, whether it’s gambling or anything else,” Smith said.
“From our perspective, players speaking more candidly about the impact is actually a reflection of them feeling better educated and supported to do that.”
In 2022, a number of AFL and AFLW players told a parliamentary inquiry into cyber-abuse that a deluge of online attacks had taken a toll on their mental health.
“I know a lot of people will say that it comes with being an AFL player but … being bullied or being discriminated against isn’t a job description,” the Indigenous Hawthorn player Chad Wingard told the inquiry.
The volume of gambling ads associated with the AFL was the most common fan concern last year, according to the AFL Fans Association’s survey of 3,000 people.
The AFL itself has also acknowledged it receives a cut of gambling turnover on its matches, beyond official sponsorship deals with wagering companies.