Australia: anti-gambling campaigner blasts AFL crypto sponsorship

Tim Costello of the Alliance for Gambling Reform says the new partnership is “corrupting and compromising the sport.”

Australia.- Reverend Tim Costello, chief advocate of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, has heavily criticised a partnership between Australian Football League (AFL) and the cryptocurrency platform crypto.com. Costello claims the AU$25m sponsorship deal is “corrupting and compromising the sport”.

Under a 5-year agreement, Crypto.com will be the AFL and AFLW’s official cryptocurrency exchange and cryptocurrency trading platform. However he said that cryptocurrency speculation compromised the integrity of the AFL just as much as traditional gambling.

He said any relationship between the AFL and cryptocurrency exchanges or gambling companies would disrupt and damage the sport.

He said: “AFL clubs have got out of pokies, by and large, but the AFL hasn’t moved an inch on Sportsbet and saturation ads.”