The Australian Rules Football League (ARFL) has strengthened its wagering regulations for members of the press, implementing more rigorous betting limitations on those reporting on the sport.
Licensed reporters and commentators will now be forbidden from placing bets on any games they are covering in an official capacity.
These revised regulations become effective this coming Thursday, aligning with the inaugural match of the NAB Challenge exhibition series.
In essence, the ARFL is instituting a five-hour “embargo period” for media personnel, commencing two hours prior to a game and concluding three hours following the final whistle.
The ARFL elucidated that media representatives can still wager on a match outside of the five-hour timeframe, such as at a later point in the week or even before arriving at the venue for the game.
This clampdown arises amid apprehensions that certain media members, by being present at the game, could obtain confidential team intelligence before the official team rosters are delivered to the ARFL – a cutoff time which transpires merely 90 minutes before the match commences.
It’s important to mention that ARFL personnel are already entirely barred from any manner of wagering on ARFL matches.
