To bet or not to bet? Black or red? Yes or no?
As Melbourne and Manly battle it out for rugby league's centenary premiership, the game's administrators face a seismic shift in handling the code's public image off the field. Should the NRL plunge head-first into the betting markets and grapple and mingle with the powerful bookmakers and betting agencies, or does it sideline itself from a potential money making stream so rich it could feasibly could keep a club or 10 afloat?
This week the NRL was pushing its family image with fan days at Luna Park as well as the traditional razzamattazz grand final breakfast and corporate heavyweights enjoying the Carbine Club lunch. On the field, it is clamping down on the ugly grapple tackles and trying to bury allegations of a media-led drive to have Cam Smith sidelined for the big game.
All feelgood stuff.
But amid the headlines it also cautiously sanctioned the joint venture of the Gold Coast Titans with the betting agency Betezy. Somehow the family fun of obtaining player autographs under the big smiling face of Luna Park and the clampdown on the ugly elements of the onfield play are at odds with the potential for a massive scandal involving betting and corruption.
Clearly, the league is worried about its betting connections and associated whisper campaigns, but keen to have a hand in the money being made out of the game.
League insiders say the betting occurs anyway, so it's best to be part of the action to try to control some of that action. Sports betting is the big growth market in the betting scene - already it is a $4 billion industry in the Northern Territory and growing exponentially, far faster than horse racing. Overseas, the big sporting clubs are festooned with names of betting agencies.
But sports, particularly cricket and tennis, have been rocked by international match-fixing scandals and have struggled to retain some element of control.
Yet as rugby league faces a cashed-up AFL and a revitalised soccer competition coinciding with a domestic economic downturn which has a direct impact on crowd figures, club membership and sales of club paraphernalia, for the clubs, taking a lucrative cut from the millions of gambling dollars is too enticing.
Social impact and ethical issues have barely been debated. In the coming year, the league clubs will scurry for the cash, with few questions asked.
At a meeting of NRL chief executives earlier this year, there was even a proposal put forward to have the NRL set up its own betting agency and have the clubs as shareholders. It was rejected after some debate.
The quick-moving Titans have opened up the floodgates for betting partnerships and have been smart in formulating a commercial deal not at odds with TAB Sportsbet's minor sponsorship of the NRL.
Most clubs have already been approached by betting agencies wanting joint ventures or licence fee deals and are ready to follow the Titans' lead. Next season most clubs will be linked - in some form or other - to a betting agency. Just like the football clubs were used as a marketing front to push home loans in the past five years, club websites are already being used to link fans to various betting companies. The next step is to strengthen those financial connections.
The titansbet.com.au website offers a 25 per cent sign-up bonus and $200 if you refer a friend. Markets are being offered not just on tomorrow's grand final but also on the lower grades and other sports, including racing.
The Titans have to be at arm's length from the betting side of things, and follow a set of guidelines allowing the code to investigate suspicious bets. There is some financial prudence, too. The club cannot have exposure to profit or loss from betting on a single match.
NRL chief executive David Gallop has been loath to enter into financial negotiations with betting agencies because of the potential impact on the code's image and the need to safeguard its integrity. TAB Sportsbet sponsored the NRL to placate a state government which was reluctant to demand the agency return a percentage of revenue to the code.
Certainly, league wants a fee from the agencies, as much as 10 per cent, similar to a model in New Zealand, but more realistically could claim as much as 5 per cent for the rights to its intellectual property. This week officials continued talks with the NSW Government about a national, all-sports response to the issue, worried about the proliferation of exotic bets, such as the book on Cam Smith's judiciary outcome. It is a fair bet this issue will bubble along for some time yet.
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