All bets are on after Stawell Gift backflip over bookmakers’ ban
It will be business as usual for the Stawell Gift’s bookmakers with organisers backing away from plans to outlaw on-course betting on one of Australia’s oldest sporting events.
Less than two weeks after announcing a blanket wagering ban on the 2024 Gift in response to a new policy prohibiting betting on minors in sport, Stawell Gift Event Management Limited (SGEM) has reversed its decision.
A Victoria Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) ruling that makes it illegal for Victorian wagering operators to accept bets on under-18 athletes and under-19 competitions came into force on February 26.
Amid an outcry from sporting traditionalists, Stawell Gift promotors took the ban further, ending more than a century of bookmaking tradition associated with the race.
The prohibitions do not apply to a non-Victorian wagering service provider (WSP) offering bets on a minor to a non-Victorian account holder where the bet is placed outside of the state, regardless of where the event is played.
But on-course bookmakers will now be able to field on all races across the three days of the Stawell Gift carnival as long as they comply with VGCCC laws.
“Spectators will be able to place bets related to adults on open-age races at the 2024 carnival, however, minors participating in those events will be excluded from all betting markets,” a SGEM statement read.
The promotor said its decision to reinstate on-course bookmakers came “following consultation with stakeholders, and the review of information which addressed the concerns of (SGEM)”.
Bookmakers operating on open-age races will have to display information that makes it clear to punters that an under-18 runner is taking part.
Warwick Barr
“Minor athletes in open-age race fields will be listed on the bookmakers’ board but will not have a price next to their name,” the SGEM said.
“Removing them from the board may infer that the athlete has scratched from the event, when they may not have.
“The bookmakers’ board will have a clearly visible sign advising why an athlete doesn’t have a price and that they’re ineligible to place a bet on them due to their age.
“All runners with a price listed are age-eligible (non-minors) for betting.
“In the event of a minor winning or being a placegetter in an open-age race, the nearest age-eligible athlete will be moved up in the placings to determine the placegetters in the bookmakers markets only.”
Teenagers are defending champions in the men’s and women’s Stawell Gift where the winners each receive $40,000 prize money.
Held at Stawell’s Central Park in country Victoria during the Easter long weekend, the three-day carnival attracts the cream of Australia’s athletes who compete for an overall $155,000 in prize money pool.
Adrian Hambleton
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