The Australian Football League (AFL) club has already spent the last two years showing its support for the initiative that aims to completely remove gambling advertising from sports. The fresh extension of the agreement will see the club spend the next two years continuing to reaffirm its commitment to put an end to the normalization of sports betting. 

The Initiative Is Supported by the Club’s Fans

The team has been the first AFL club to ink a partnership with the Reclaim the Game initiative that belongs to the government of New South Wales. So far, the club’s support for the initiative has been joined by many of its fans. Seven out of 10 Sydney Swans supporters believe gambling should not be included in the experience while nine out of 10 fans agreed about an overload of gambling advertising.

By deciding to continue the agreement, the club wants to raise even more awareness of the potential risks tied to gambling. They also wish to eliminate sports betting ads at their Sydney Cricket Ground home stadium. 

The decision is aimed at both men’s and women’s home matches. The club’s chief executive officer Tom Harley expressed his excitement to keep collaborating with GambleAware. The latter is now busy expanding its partnership with Sydney Swans’ women’s team.

Harley also spoke about the new partnership extension with GambleAware that will help the club continue its “important work in this area.” He described the partnership as one that will help their “ambition to provide a more family-friendly sporting experience” during all their home matches. 

How Was the Reclaim the Game Initiative Born?

The omnipresence of sports betting advertising and sponsorships has turned into a reality of our times. In 2021 alone, sports betting companies spent a grand total of $287.2 million on sports advertising. 

Youngsters are exposed to too many sports betting ads which causes many of them to consider betting a normal part of the sports-watching experience. Close to half of teenagers ages 12 to 17 watch gambling ads on TV while watching sports and races on TV every week.

GambleAware decided to collaborate with NSW sporting clubs and take an important stand against this phenomenon through the Reclaim the Game initiative which started in 2020. Their shared goal is to challenge the powerful impact of sports betting advertising on sports fans.

The Reclaim the Game initiative has attracted numerous partners in Australia’s A-League, the National Rugby League, the National Basketball League, and a series of important cricket competitions. 

So far, all of GambleAware’s partners have successfully turned down sports betting sponsorships and continued to express their commitment to tackling sports betting advertising at their home games. 

Last October, A-League Western Sydney Wanderers and Macarthur FC together with Cricket NSW joined the same initiative.