AFL clubs talk up community leadership while fostering pokie

[Rabbit]

Trevor Grant

With a poker machine addiction now embedded in the finances of AFL clubs, it is legitimate to question the league's self-proclaimed role as a champion of social responsibility.

Certainly, some people believe football's link with the pokies is damaging the community from which it draws its millions of supporters.

This week The Age reported that the 1317 poker machines in nine Victorian AFL clubs last year drained $85 million from the pockets of customers, a good proportion of whom are football fans. They would also make up a fair swag of the gambling addicts who, according to the voice of the anti-pokies movement and World Vision CEO, Tim Costello, contribute 40 per cent of this revenue.

Geelong, which drained $9.6 million from users of its 180 poker machines, is a club torn between its social conscience and the desire to maximise corporate opportunities, as was made clear to me this week when I spoke to the Cats' president, Colin Carter.

I rang Carter to ask about the apparent conflict between his presidency at Geelong and his position as a director of World Vision, which, according to Costello, has ''screening policies'' which preclude it from taking money from gambling. This policy was revealed to AFL clubs two years ago when World Vision lent its name to North Melbourne in the form of a ''community partnership''.

This week, Costello again made clear his distaste for the AFL's poker machine links when addressing the list of losses at pokie venues run by clubs. ''I welcome the publishing of the real AFL ladder,'' he said. ''AFL clubs boast of their community support and what they put back; this tells you what they are taking out in terms of the cost to families, businesses and crime in the community. I think AFL clubs should bite the bullet. Forty per cent of that revenue comes from addicted people.''

Carter denied there was any conflict between his roles at Geelong and World Vision. ''I don't see it as an institutional conflict. It's a personal issue I'm wrestling with,'' he said. ''Actually I'm glad Tim has that public stance. I would do nothing to tell him to shut up about it. I think we need national reform of this industry.''

Indeed, Carter said he was uncomfortable with the example being set by AFL clubs through the increasing dependence on poker machine money. ''You are not the first to ask me this question. My mother, a 92-year-old Baptist lady, would ask exactly the same question. It's a question I ask of myself,'' he said, as he explained that he believed, on balance, it was best for his club to run poker machines, with an emphasis on responsibility, rather than having the ''pubs and everyone else to belt the punters''.

Carter, a former league commissioner, agrees that AFL football, as a self-proclaimed leader in social responsibility, has to come to terms with its reliance on gambling sponsorships and poker machines.

''You are pointing to what I think is a massive inconsistency in the [football] industry. You watch the Brownlow and you are constantly plastered with live odds. They have finally cleaned up their act at the stadiums, where you were getting live odds and invitations to bet all the time,'' he said.

''We, as AFL clubs, don't like that. And none of the clubs like the industry's dependence on it at the moment. The pressure from outside is good. However, I've decided that the most constructive example to set, and the impact on the community, is to show you can run these businesses properly without extreme damage being done to people. That's where I've landed and I've convinced myself of that position, rightly or wrongly.''

Even though he is no doubt genuine when he says he is keen to see poker machine reforms, such as $1 or $2 maximum bets, the problem with Carter's argument is that he's portraying a competition that generated about $425 million last year in ticket sales, television rights, merchandise sales and sponsorships as a helpless victim being swept along on an avaricious corporate tide.

''The profits we get from the poker machines are critical to the club's survival,'' Carter said. But the reality is that AFL clubs are not broke, and powerless, no matter how much they talk about their hand-to-mouth existence. The idea that Geelong would somehow go out of business without poker machines is hard to reconcile.

Last year, AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou indirectly acknowledged the damage done by poker machines when he indicated that he would be happy to see clubs sell them. At the time, this had the distinct smell of media management of the issue. A year on, and with clubs still feeding the destructive habits of thousands, it has the same odour.

If the AFL is serious about its role as a community leader, it would find a way to cure its addiction to poker machines. And quickly.

[NRLCrap1]

The NRL started this, so don't try and level the finger at the AFL exclusively, Rabbit!

[cos789]

Yes, this is probably the only area where the NRL leads and AFL follows.

[NRLCrap1]

Unfortunately.

[Raiderdave]

the difference being the NRL does not portray itself as a bastion of social conscience
it knows its football clubs rely on this revenue after decades of them being institutionalised in the NSW Club scene
the NRL are not hypocrites on this issue

the VFL does portray itself as something it is clearly not
the VFL are hypocrites & two faced slime bags
hence the article ..............

[cos789]

the NRL knows its football clubs rely on this revenue after decades of them being institutionalised

Yet has done nothing over those decades.

[pHyR3]

what is your point cos? it's well known that AFL management >>>>>>> NRL management. Nrl is managed atrociously at club and nrl level. And the shoddy tv coverage/commentating is evidence of that.

I love the sport because of the product, the greatest game of all.

[Xman]

what is your point cos? it's well known that AFL management >>>>>>> NRL management. Nrl is managed atrociously at club and nrl level. And the shoddy tv coverage/commentating is evidence of that.

I love the sport because of the product, the greatest game of all.

If it was the greatest game of all it would at least be popular in its own heartland. Some of this years finals crowds were nothing short of A league like. The membership figures for Sydney teams are also a joke. RL fans sure have a funny way of supporting their "greatest game of all" >

[pHyR3]

what is your point cos? it's well known that AFL management >>>>>>> NRL management. Nrl is managed atrociously at club and nrl level. And the shoddy tv coverage/commentating is evidence of that.

I love the sport because of the product, the greatest game of all.

If it was the greatest game of all it would at least be popular in its own heartland. Some of this years finals crowds were nothing short of A league like. The membership figures for Sydney teams are also a joke. RL fans sure have a funny way of supporting their "greatest game of all" >

i've explained this numerous times. Poor advertising, poor structuring of the season by not giving origin its own week, extremely poor rules and reffings, poor engagement with grassroots and the community combined with most popular teams doing badly led to a slight drop in crowds and ratings in 2013.

Also, a lack of culture of 'memberships and attendances' is part of it. But TV ratings are just about equal to AFL, AFL probably edged out league in 2013 but league beat AFL in 2012 and most of the years just prior to that including rep footy since that indicates interest in the 'greatest game of all' since it is perhaps the pinnacle of the sport along with internationals and GFs.

honestly, evertime i try to debate the spectacle of AFL vs NRL i come out with 5 or 6 amazing highlights just from this year alone then the AFL supporter comes along with some alright play, a kick from the sideline or a long kick (that's all amazing that ever happens in AFL) and maybe a decent mark, then i give them more videos and they tell me to fuck off and that i don't get it.

[adamj1300]

Yes, this is probably the only area where the NRL leads and AFL follows.

pokie machines are the only form of revenue for the NRL, well with pathetic memberships & crowds,
unattractive packages to sponsorships, arn't going to pay the bills. in the Nations largest state, it took the crunulla sharks nearly all year to obtain a major sponsor.
most of the NRL clubs still running on losses with small budgets of 1 third of the smallest AFL clubs

[Swans4ever]

the difference being the NRL does not portray itself as a bastion of social conscience
it knows its football clubs rely on this revenue after decades of them being institutionalised in the NSW Club scene
the NRL are not hypocrites on this issue

the VFL does portray itself as something it is clearly not
the VFL are hypocrites & two faced slime bags
hence the article ..............

Ahem - where have the AFL made statements about this issue - another full of crap post and thread - way to go gutless wonder!

[NRLCrap1]

honestly, evertime i try to debate the spectacle of AFL vs NRL i come out with 5 or 6 amazing highlights just from this year alone then the AFL supporter comes along with some alright play, a kick from the sideline or a long kick (that's all amazing that ever happens in AFL) and maybe a decent mark, then i give them more videos and they tell me to fuck off and that i don't get it.

Well you don't! You have no appreciation of real all round athletic prowess. If you did the AFL highlights would impress you. But they don't, and there is no explanation for this other than what I just said.

[pHyR3]

AFL players only have endurance. that's it.

[pHyR3]

their verticle jumps are alright too

[NRLCrap1]

They also have pace, strength and the sort of timing that goes with the odd bouncing ball. It also takes great manual dexterity to execute a handpass.