Three of the largest playing firms in Australia are providing bets on worldwide cricket matches involving underage gamers, prompting outrage from the nation’s youngster safety watchdog.

ABC Investigations has found Sportsbet, TAB and bet365 have been providing bets on this month’s inaugural Below-19 Ladies’s T20 World Cup in South Africa, together with final Wednesday’s match between Australia and Sri Lanka in Benoni.

Virtually half of the Australian gamers had been aged beneath 18, together with 15-year-old Maggie Clark and 16-year-old Lucy Hamilton.

All however three of the 11 gamers on Sri Lanka’s workforce had been aged beneath 18.

Nationwide Youngsters’s Commissioner Anne Hollonds mentioned the betting was an exploitation of youngsters and referred to as for legal guidelines banning playing on sporting occasions that includes minors.

“Clearly, children are being exploited for revenue,” she mentioned.

“Younger persons are principally getting used for revenue by these on-line playing companies. They’re companies making a revenue on our youngsters.”

Sportsbet declined a request for an interview. Nonetheless, in an announcement, it mentioned it “works arduous to make sure we adjust to all related regulatory and authorized necessities”.

“Sportsbet doesn’t present betting markets for beneath 18 years of age competitions or occasions.”

TAB and bet365, which is a Cricket Australia sponsor, didn’t reply to requests for remark.

A guardian of one of many gamers informed the ABC she was involved to study the event was being guess on.

“They are not racehorses … she’s not a greyhound,” the guardian mentioned. “It is children’ sport.

“I might hate it if the motivation behind holding tournaments was due to the cash from playing moderately than for the game.”

Since early this week, Sportsbet and TAB have been providing pre-match odds on the end result of the Australia-Sri Lanka match, in addition to a number of different matches within the event, together with Bangladesh v USA, India v Scotland and South Africa v United Arab Emirates.

In-play betting raises threat of integrity points, specialist says

In-play betting — which permits prospects to gamble on a match after it has began — is unlawful for Australian-domiciled bookmakers.

Nonetheless, bet365’s worldwide websites continued to supply quite a lot of in-play bets on the Australia-Sri Lanka match after it started, together with on the variety of runs in particular person overs and the timing of wickets.

College of Canberra sports activities integrity specialist Catherine Ordway mentioned that in-play betting introduced notably acute hazards in fixtures being performed by youngsters.

“The mix of in-play betting and younger individuals raises purple flags instantly,” she mentioned.

“We have seen grooming strategies utilized by match-fixers who goal susceptible individuals and attempt to persuade them to throw matches or drop factors to ship a playing profit.”

There isn’t a suggestion that any gamers within the event have been concerned in match fixing.

Dr Ordway mentioned younger athletes had been notably susceptible to approaches from match-fixers on social media.

“Younger gamers usually do not have the information or life expertise to understand that what would possibly seem to be an harmless praise on social media is likely to be a part of an even bigger plan to begin grooming them for match fixing,” she mentioned.

“In Australia, we have now very strong integrity coaching, however we do not know whether or not that schooling has been particularly focused to younger individuals or they’re simply getting the identical coaching that has been rolled out for senior gamers.”

Cricket Australia declined a request for an interview. Nonetheless, in an announcement, mentioned it adhered to authorities tips on betting sponsorship, and it carried out anti-corruption schooling for all pathway applications, together with the Australian under-19 girls’s workforce.

“Whereas we can not management what betting markets are provided on occasions performed overseas, we acknowledge the legitimate issues which have been raised and welcome any dialog which will enhance our personal frameworks to additional guarantee our younger athletes are protected,” it mentioned.

Australia’s playing trade is regulated by a patchwork of state and territory legal guidelines, laws and codes, none of which prohibit playing on underage sporting occasions.

Anne Hollonds mentioned she wished governments to introduce legal guidelines stopping playing firms providing bets on occasions that includes youngsters.

“I feel lots of people could be shocked to listen to that there seems to be poor … regulation to cease playing on the outcomes of video games involving children,” she mentioned.

“There’s the potential threat that this kind of exercise might actually mess with these children’ minds at that younger, susceptible age. There’s a ethical concern of defending the security and the rights and the wellbeing of youngsters right here.”