Ex-AFL chief warns CA of need of 'robust' approach to anti-corruption

Former Australian Football League (AFL) chief executive Adrian Anderson has said that Cricket Australia (CA) and state cricket associations needed a robust national approach to anti-corruption.

Stating that one global betting exchange turns over a billion dollars a year on Australian cricket, Anderson, who is conducting a review of CA's integrity and disciplinary systems, estimated that 60 per cent of that is from the Big Bash League (BBL), and much of it through offshore accounts, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

According to the report, the former chief of football operations for the AFL used figures from one betting agency to illustrate the scale of legal, regulated betting on Australian cricket, and the need for strong integrity systems around international and domestic competitions.

Estimating that its income from sports betting, through integrity agreements with 25 operators, comes to less than 500,000 dollars a year, CA, however, stated that these arrangements also give the sport access to information and the power to veto certain exotic bets.

Although CA chief James Sutherland said he is confident in the integrity of the BBL, which is monitored by an Australian anti-corruption unit, however, senior officials have said that the league is telecast live into the subcontinent, which has a vast illegal betting industry.

The report further said that the spot-fixing scandal engulfing the Indian Premier League has served as a stark reminder of the vulnerability of domestic Twenty20 leagues, adding that the scope of Indian police investigations has reportedly widened to include Pakistani umpire Asad Rauf, who was withdrawn from the coming Champions Trophy in England.

The announcement came a week after three Rajasthan Royals cricketers, including former Test fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, were arrested and accused of agreeing to concede a predetermined number of runs from "fixed" overs in exchange for tens of thousands of dollars during the IPL, the report added.