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By Chris Barrett and Kate McClymont
June 3, 2020 — 5.33pm
SMH
Rugby league television personalities Bryan Fletcher and Paul Kent have inadvertently become entangled in the NRL's Dally M betting scandal.
Their names appeared on betting records provided to police investigating the use of inside information to successfully wager on Melbourne Storm's Craig Bellamy to win the coach of the year award in 2019.
Former NSW and Australian player Fletcher and journalist Kent are both employees of Fox Sports which broadcast the end of season Dally M awards ceremony on October 2, three weeks after voting was finalised.
Kent, who fronts the NRL 360 program on Fox and writes for News Corp's The Daily Telegraph, and Fletcher backed Bellamy to win the award, according to sources with knowledge of the plunge.
Last week two executives of sports data company StatEdge, which compiled the voting results for the NRL, were charged with using prior knowledge to bet on the result of the coach of the year.
The NRL had been notified of the winners in four categories including coach of the year just after 6pm on September 13 via an email from Ben Trevisiol, the general manager of StatEdge. Police will allege within an hour of sending the email Trevisiol and Joshua Wilson, the chief executive of StatEdge, started betting on Bellamy to win coach of the year.
According to police facts, Wilson told the NRL integrity unit soon after the awards night that he had made a “stupid mistake” and admitted he had passed on information to mates at an eastern suburbs pub shortly after sending off the results to the NRL.
Betting information uncovered by NRL analysts found more than $20,000 was won on the Bellamy award including an individual bet to win as much as $10,000
Bookmakers restrict the size of bets that can be placed on so-called "novelty" markets because of concerns with the integrity of pre-determined outcomes such as the winners of the Dally Ms and television shows like Survivor and MasterChef.
Sources with knowledge of the investigation said Fletcher and Kent had their bets red flagged by the NRL to police, who are examining the bets made after the result was determined.
There is no suggestion Fletcher and Kent had any connection to the StatEdge pair or had prior knowledge that Bellamy would win the award when they placed the bets.
Fletcher and Kent did not return calls and texts from the Herald on Wednesday, nor did Fox Sports head of television Steve Crawley by the time of publishing.
Contacted about Fletcher and Kent's bets, a NSW Police spokesman said: “NSW Police continue to work closely with the NRL and sports betting agencies as part of investigations and anyone with information that may assist detectives is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.”
June 3, 2020 — 5.33pm
SMH
Rugby league television personalities Bryan Fletcher and Paul Kent have inadvertently become entangled in the NRL's Dally M betting scandal.
Their names appeared on betting records provided to police investigating the use of inside information to successfully wager on Melbourne Storm's Craig Bellamy to win the coach of the year award in 2019.
Former NSW and Australian player Fletcher and journalist Kent are both employees of Fox Sports which broadcast the end of season Dally M awards ceremony on October 2, three weeks after voting was finalised.
Kent, who fronts the NRL 360 program on Fox and writes for News Corp's The Daily Telegraph, and Fletcher backed Bellamy to win the award, according to sources with knowledge of the plunge.
Last week two executives of sports data company StatEdge, which compiled the voting results for the NRL, were charged with using prior knowledge to bet on the result of the coach of the year.
The NRL had been notified of the winners in four categories including coach of the year just after 6pm on September 13 via an email from Ben Trevisiol, the general manager of StatEdge. Police will allege within an hour of sending the email Trevisiol and Joshua Wilson, the chief executive of StatEdge, started betting on Bellamy to win coach of the year.
According to police facts, Wilson told the NRL integrity unit soon after the awards night that he had made a “stupid mistake” and admitted he had passed on information to mates at an eastern suburbs pub shortly after sending off the results to the NRL.
Betting information uncovered by NRL analysts found more than $20,000 was won on the Bellamy award including an individual bet to win as much as $10,000
Bookmakers restrict the size of bets that can be placed on so-called "novelty" markets because of concerns with the integrity of pre-determined outcomes such as the winners of the Dally Ms and television shows like Survivor and MasterChef.
Sources with knowledge of the investigation said Fletcher and Kent had their bets red flagged by the NRL to police, who are examining the bets made after the result was determined.
There is no suggestion Fletcher and Kent had any connection to the StatEdge pair or had prior knowledge that Bellamy would win the award when they placed the bets.
Fletcher and Kent did not return calls and texts from the Herald on Wednesday, nor did Fox Sports head of television Steve Crawley by the time of publishing.
Contacted about Fletcher and Kent's bets, a NSW Police spokesman said: “NSW Police continue to work closely with the NRL and sports betting agencies as part of investigations and anyone with information that may assist detectives is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.”
