Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I also rise to join this discussion on matters of public interest. Recently there has been a great deal of media attention paid to an emerging issue in Victoria: the rights of sports to control their own product when it comes to sports betting. I believe that now is the time for a national approach, and the federal government should take a leadership role in this important area. Now is timely to be discussing our love of sport and the ways in which we can bolster our sports performance, with the Commonwealth Games only a matter of days away. I expect Australia to excel again in my home town of Melbourne, the greatest city in the world and the capital of sporting events.

It should be no secret at all that Australians love their sport—Melburnians most of all—and that we as a nation are proud of our achievements, which are worthy of a nation much larger than ours. That pride is partly because of the faith we have in our sportspeople and their reputation for fairness, honesty and endeavour. The integrity of the sports product is key to transparency and credibility.

However, there have been occasions, particularly internationally, when the integrity of certain sports has been tarnished by events where it has been alleged that sportspeople have taken cash for their performances or for information to the advantage of persons involved in sports betting. Sports betting in Australia is a growing industry. Sports wagering is increasing at nearly 30 per cent per annum. Some $1.6 billion is generated in Australia through sports betting. Sports have no control over how or what bets are taken on their sport and receive no share of the revenues from betting operators, except where commercial deals have been entered into, such as the deal that the AFL has recently entered into with Tabcorp and Betfair.

In my view, it is important that sports have control over the types of bets and information on what bets are taken on their sports, so as to enhance their efforts to police integrity. The effort to police integrity should be coupled with a fair return to sports from the betting taking place on their product, as they are the institutions that bear the costs for such policing. There are simple principles involved: sports currently protect and police the integrity of their sports without compensation; they currently receive no return for those efforts; and the betting on these sports depends on the faith of the punters in the integrity of the product.

Many countries in the world already support this model. Recently the Victorian government has committed to such a model being put in place for sports. The Minister for Racing and Gaming in Victoria has committed to introducing legislation which gives sports protections and a fair share by July of this year. I commend the minister for taking this action. The National Rugby League spokesperson, David Gallop, has stated publicly:

I think it is those bets that are peculiar that you would be concerned about ... A greater control over the types of bets would be prudent from our point of view.

I agree with Mr Gallop on that. James Sutherland, the CEO of Cricket Australia, has stated:

Perception is important because people are paying hard-earned money to come and watch international cricket matches. People want to know the sport they are watching is genuine and free from corrupt activity.

He also went on to say:

If you are going to bet on whether a player walks out onto the field with a cap or a sun hat or makes 20 or 21 ... then there are higher levels of risk around that and we would want to get some control.

I also agree with Mr Sutherland. You can see the nature of the concerns that these sports have, and I believe they are warranted. Most major competitive sports have now come together under the banner of the Coalition of Major Professional Sports, COMPS, to lobby for a fair return from sports betting. Senators would be aware that similar arrangements are in place for wagering on racing. Racing currently receives a 25 per cent return from Tabcorp wagering in Victoria. This enables racing to maintain its integrity, whilst also providing a real return to the sport that is providing the entertainment—and thereby the profit—to the betting provider.

As well as this precedent, there are also international precedents which are worthy of note. The New Zealand government has legislated for a mandated return of profit from sports betting to sports. Sweden and Norway have similar models in place, although their betting provider is state owned. In fact, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Japan, Italy, New Zealand, Greece, Sweden, Norway, the UK and Israel all make distributions to sports in some manner.

I believe it is worth while for me to now outline in some detail my thoughts on an appropriate proposal around sports wagering in Australia. In my view, there are two aims: firstly, to ensure that sports receive a fair share of sports wagering; secondly, to create enhanced oversight mechanisms to ensure the integrity of sports wagering. Sports should have the ability to determine the terms upon which wagering services are offered to the marketplace, to increase both sports revenue and the ability to implement integrity measures. Sports, like racing, already have in place advanced stewardship arrangements which see them police the integrity of their sports. This has proven vital in recent years in efforts to ensure that events and participants operate with fair oversight, and that punters and the public can have faith in the quality of events. Sports must have the right to control their own data. The compilation of data is expensive and resource intensive. Sports have a right to be compensated by those who use sports for commercial purposes.

Lastly, the distribution of revenue from wagering should be based on turnover rather than profit in order not to penalise sports in cases where the wagering service is operated poorly. After all, sports carry all the financial risk associated with the conduct of their events and there is no reason why wagering service providers should not do the same.

While there are many sports, including cricket, soccer, Rugby League, Rugby Union, tennis, golf, basketball and Australian Rules football, that are represented by recognisable national sporting organisations, the structure of other sports can be fragmented. Legislation would therefore be required that allows the relevant minister to recognise national sporting organisations. Most obviously, these would be organisations responsible for the conduct, promotion and development of their sport.

COMPS’ proposals are worthy of strong consideration, and the federal government must certainly play its role. Australia does not want to become a haven for unregulated sports betting in a global environment which, by and large, is trying to act to ensure integrity and provide a fair return to sports for doing so. We must act now to ensure that the integrity of sports is protected into the future.

A collective approach such as this is also to be commended. It is an approach that I would like to see mirrored in the way that state governments deal with their response. We need a national framework for sports betting, and I encourage the federal government to take a role in ensuring that this happens. It is unreasonable for sports to be put in the position of having to deal with eight different jurisdictions in different ways. They deserve more respect than that. The minister may consider following the lead of the Victorian government by asking—or requiring, if possible—protections to be offered to all sports, and a fair return for their product.

Mr Acting Deputy President, as I have a few moments left of my time, I want to commend the Victorian government for the way that they have handled the lead-up and the organisation of the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games, which is going to be a great state event as well as one of national importance. Of course, to Victoria it is much more than a sporting event. It has involved the whole state in community activities, and all 79 Victorian councils will host events at over 200 locations celebrating the spirit and the impact of the Commonwealth Games.

The games have of course brought great economic benefit to the state of Victoria. They will result in expenditure within Victoria associated with the games of more than $3 billion. It is estimated that the event will result in an increase in gross state product of $1.5 billion and create 13,000 full-time jobs, including casual positions and new permanent positions, and increases in the amount of overtime worked. Of course, the event will bring together 4,500 athletes from 71 different Commonwealth nations. It is expected that there will be television audiences of 1.5 billion worldwide. It will involve up to 15,000 volunteers who will contribute to the organisation and running of the Games and other associated events. Tourism expenditure is forecast to be in excess of $250 million. All of that paints a great picture.

I had the privilege of visiting the Games village a number of weeks ago. Contrary to some media speculation, the village is ready. All is in order for the beginning of the Games. Clearly, the minister for sport in Victoria, Mr Justin Madden, along with his fellow ministers, must be commended for the organisation leading up to the Games. It will be an incredibly successful event, an important event for Melbourne, an important event for Victoria and an important event for Australia.