Detectives from Victoria Police’s sporting integrity intelligence unit say they expect charges to be laid against four men over suspicious Brownlow Medal betting in this year’s count won by Patrick Cripps.
The investigation, conducted with Sport Integrity Australia and the AFL, has focused on the illegal release of umpire votes from matches through the home-and-away season.
Four men have been arrested over suspicious betting linked to this year’s Brownlow Medal count.Credit:Fairfax Media
Victoria Police alleged in a statement that a person with knowledge of the voting tally distributed the information to a group of people known to them.
Warrants were carried out on Monday at residential properties in Glenroy, Kilsyth, Oak Park, Drouin, Craigieburn and Doreen, and four men were arrested. They were two 32-year-old men from Glenroy, a 29-year-old man from Oak Park and a 27-year-old man from Drouin.
The four men allegedly involved are expected to be charged on summons with using information to corrupt a betting event, meaning they will face criminal charges at a later date and be released by investigators, as the probe into the allegations continues.
Several mobile phones and electronic items were seized.
“All four men are currently in custody assisting police with their enquiries and the investigation is ongoing. The criminal offences police are investigating are engaging in conduct that corrupts or would corrupt a betting outcome of event or event contingency, and using corrupt conduct information for betting purposes. These offences carry up to 10 years imprisonment,” police said in a statement.
Police are investigating how many matches potentially had votes released and the magnitude of the bets involved. Police say there is nothing to suggest Cripps’ win – confirmed only after his best-on-ground effort against Collingwood in the last round of the season – was impacted. The Carlton captain played the final two rounds, only after an initial two-match ban for rough conduct was quashed by the AFL appeals board.
Commander Deb Robertson, from Victoria Police’s intelligence and covert support command, said a dedicated team of detectives continued to work on the case.
“Victorians are well known for their love of AFL and in particular, the prestigious Brownlow Medal award, but equally they want to know that there is integrity, fairness and honesty behind this award,” Robertson said.
“We have been working with the AFL and Sport Integrity Australian in relation to these matters, and we will continue to work together to target, disrupt and apprehend people who commit these offences.
“The public assistance is a really key part – we know there are people out there involved in sport who see or hear things they know are not right and we need them to speak up.”
