Talking Footy

The ''normalisation'' of betting in rugby league may be the reason for a dramatic disparity between the gambling habits of the code's supporters compared to the general population, says former Tom Brock scholar James Connor.

Figures provided to Fairfax Media by Roy Morgan Research showed people over 18 who said they supported an NRL club were 72 per cent more likely than non-league supporters to have gambled in the past three months. They were 55 per cent more likely to have played a poker machine, 74 per cent more likely to have used a TAB to place a bet and 69 per cent more likely to have used the internet to have placed a bet.

The figures showed AFL supporters, too, gambled more than the general population, but much less so than NRL supporters.