Favourite Gout – All Stawell Gift bets are off on teen sprinting sensation
More than 100 years of bookmaking tradition will collide with a new-age gambling law when Australian athletics star Gout Gout competes at the Stawell Gift in April.
Australia’s richest and most prestigious footrace, the Stawell Gift has a storied history because of its connection to gambling and the fortunes won and lost in the central Victorian township.
But while teen star Gout will be the headline act during this year’s edition over the Easter long weekend that ranks as one of Australia’s oldest sporting events, his presence will come with a wagering caveat that could stymie betting interest on the famous race.
A Victorian law that bans wagering on minors involved in sporting events will prevent bookmakers from offering odds on the 17-year-old.
Although the Stawell Gift is run as a handicap race with the philosophy that all runners should cross the finish line together, under normal circumstances Gout would be a huge fan favourite at Stawell.
On form, reputation and obvious potential, Gout would also most likely be a standout bookmakers’ pick if they were allowed to frame a market on all runners.
But under rules that led to Gift organisers announcing a betting ban last year before backflipping on the decision, wagering operators cannot display odds on the chances of a competitor who is under the age of 19.
Gout, a rising star of the international athletics world, doesn’t turn 19 until December 2026.
Warwick Barr
A Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) ban on betting on all under-19 sports competitions came into place last February.
The move applies to all Australian wagering operators (WSPs) and all 13 sports controlling bodies registered in Victoria.
The VGCCC determined that betting on minors in sport is contrary to the public interest because it poses potential integrity and gambling-related harm concerns.
But compliance with the new requirements is a complex issue for WSPs and their customers.
The prohibitions do not apply to a non-Victorian WSP offering bets on a minor to a non-Victorian account holder where the bet is placed outside of Victoria, regardless of where the event is staged.
But on-course bookmakers operating on open-age races such as the Stawell Gift will have to display information that makes it clear to punters that an under-19 runner is taking part.
In reversing its decision to ban betting in 2024, a Stawell Gift Event Management outlined a list of conditions that bookmakers must adhere to when offering a service to the punting public.
They include:
- Having minor athletes in open-age race fields listed on the bookmakers’ board without a price next to their name
- Having a board that 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
- Ensuring 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.
Gout’s management team confirmed last week the sprinter had agreed to run at Stawell but final contract negotiations were continuing.
Warwick Barr
He has been training in the US after breaking Peter Norman’s 56-year-old Australian 200m record and clocking a wind-assisted 10.04 seconds for the 100m at the Australian All-Schools Championships in Brisbane in December.
In its history, the Stawell Gift has attracted some of the biggest names in athletics including Olympic gold medallist Linford Christie, world record holder Asafa Powell and 2003 world champion Kim Collins.
Despite their decorated careers none of them were able to win and athletics insiders say Gout would have to overcome a difficult handicap in a race where there have only been two runners successful from the scratch in its 142-year history.
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