Leading Australian corporate bookmaker Sportsbet has accused the AFL of scuttling a multi-million dollar deal with Richmond.
Sportsbet chief executive Matt Tripp said an AFL decision to look after "protected" sponsors also prevented it from helping other struggling AFL clubs, including financially bereft Melbourne, for another year.
The AFL determined this week that only bookmakers accredited with it for 12 months could become a major sponsor of a club.
Only Betfair and TabCorp fit that bill, though Tattersall's also comes into play as a gambling operation.
Betfair chief executive Andrew Twaits said his company "categorically was not in the running" to sponsor Richmond.
Luxbet, a Darwin corporate bookmaking subsidiary of TabCorp, began operations only four months ago.
Luxbet media manager Stephen Brassel said he was "not privy to any information" on a potential sponsorship deal and "couldn't shed any light on the subject".
Richmond president Gary March said the Tigers were "in negotiations at the moment with a couple of potential sponsors and we hope to finalise something next week".
March was disappointed the Sportsbet deal did not proceed, but believed the club would still benefit.
"I don't think we will be any worse off than if we had been allowed to partner Sportsbet," March said.
Sportsbet is understood to have negotiated a $2.4 million deal over three years, plus incentives, to be a co-major sponsor, allowing it to promote its logo on the back of the club jumper.
"I can understand that Matt Tripp and Sportsbet are disappointed," March said.
"We would have loved to have had such a progressive and huge company as Sportsbet on our side. However, the AFL ruling put an end to all that," March said.
Tripp said that the AFL's decision had left a sour taste in his mouth.
"We had a couple of million dollars to throw at the club and the AFL, but its all been brushed aside," he said. "We have spent hundreds of hours in meetings and negotiations with Richmond.
"This was a serious proposal of several million dollars to be a major co-sponsor for a three-year period. The Tigers board was thrilled with the proposal. It was like a joint venture, a terrific deal for the club that could have prospered for far longer than the original term.
"We believed the AFL would look at this situation in the same way it does with other sponsors. It has Toyota and Geelong has Ford. It has Qantas and Collingwood has Emirates. Both we and Richmond couldn't see why the AFL couldn't have TabCorp while the Tigers had Sportsbet.
"We may look at soccer or the NFL to spend our sponsorship money," he said. (Credit: Herald Sun)
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