The South Sydney Rabbitohs have joined forces with Reclaim the Game, a NSW Government initiative to challenge the idea that betting is a normal part of sport.
Rabbitohs CEO, Blake Solly, said: “Our community plays such a big role in our Club, and we felt that this is a campaign we can support to reduce community exposure to sports betting advertising.
“Research shows that there are long term effects on families when sports betting causes harm in the community, and we feel the Reclaim the Game message is a positive for the fans and families that support our Club and our sport.
“We hope that we play a style of football that can entertain everyone in the family without feeling like they need to bet on the game to enjoy it.
“Reclaim the Game is all about that message, and we’re proud to support them and their desire to effect cultural change around sports betting advertising.”
Director of the Office of Responsible Gambling, Natalie Wright, said more than any other sport, the NRL is saturated with sports betting advertising and cultural change is vital to prevent and reduce gambling harm in the community.
“Online sports betting is the fastest growing form of gambling and the NRL is the most popular sport to bet on in NSW,” Ms Wright said.
“The NRL fan-base is huge and gambling advertising is everywhere which means if you’re a supporter exposure is virtually inescapable.”
In 2019 the NRL had a TV audience of 101.9 million people and research shows that every week, almost half of 12–17-year-olds saw gambling advertising on television during sports and racing and a third could recall the different gambling options.
Young men are most at risk of gambling harm and an estimated 41 per cent of regular sports bettors experience one or more gambling-related problems.
“Sports betting companies know that visibility works, which is why they invest so much in advertising on the most popular code in NSW.
“We are so pleased to see the Rabbitohs reclaim the game in the advertising spaces they control. They are leading the way in the NRL by calling time on sports betting sponsorships. We hope that other clubs and the NRL itself will follow suit, so that fans can get back to what sport is all about.”
