Stawell Gift promotors ban wagering on iconic Easter athletics event
Bookmakers will be banned from fielding on the Stawell Gift, ending more than a century-long tradition associated with the famous athletics carnival.
The Stawell Gift Event Management’s (SGEM) move comes as a reaction to a new Victorian wagering policy that stops bookmakers betting on sports involving athletes under the age of 19.
A Victoria Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) ban on betting on all under-19 sports competitions came into place on Monday.
“While the attendance of bookmakers has been a mainstay of the Stawell Gift carnival, SGEM respects the position of the VGCCC and is committed to the welfare of under-19 athletes,” SGEM chair Murray Emerson said in a statement.
“Bookmakers will not be on-site at the 2024 carnival.
“While we acknowledge that many athletes participating at Stawell are indeed aged over 19 years, many of our athletes, particularly those in our feature sprint events, are under the age of 19.
“In fact, teenagers are the defending champions in both the Stawell Gift and the Women’s Gift in 2024.
“We are committed to the integrity of the event and the welfare of our participants and spectators. This decision has been made with these priorities in mind.”
Held at Stawell’s Central Park in country Victoria, the three-day carnival attracts the cream of Australia’s athletes who compete for $155,000 in prize money.
The winners of the Stawell Gift and the Women’s Gift each receive $40,000.
First staged in 1878, the Stawell Gift is recognised as one of the world’s most famous and prestigious foot races and betting plunges on runners who have beaten the handicapper are the stuff of punting folklore.
Fortunes have been won and lost in a betting ring that in its heyday was as vibrant as any Australian racecourse.
The Stawell Gift’s website acknowledges the contribution wagering has made to the long-standing tradition of the Easter weekend event.
“Bookmakers have played an integral part in the rich and colourful history, the attraction of the punt adding to the magic and intrigue,” it says.
Senet Legal wagering lawyer Adrian Hambleton brought the new VGCCC policy to the attention of The Straight’s audience in the first of a series of columns published earlier this month.
Adrian Hambleton
“The VGCCC has placed the responsibility for identifying participants who are minors on sports control bodies and wagering service providers,” he wrote.
“The VGCCC has advised that where a participant’s age cannot be verified, a precautionary approach should be taken and betting on the participant should not be offered until it can be.
“(It) has determined that betting on minors in sport is contrary to the public interest and poses potential integrity and gambling-related harm concerns and implemented prohibitions.”
The penalty for non-compliance or breach of the prohibition is a fine of $11,538.60.
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