NRL bans Dally M betting after coach award scandal
The NRL has sensationally banned betting on the Dally M award amid the damaging scandal surrounding last year's Coach of the Year award.
The news comes in the wake of police charging two men for using inside information to place bets on Craig Bellamy to win last year's honour for the best coach in the game.
Craig Bellamy accepts the Dally M coach of the year award last October.Credit:Getty Images
The cancellation of all markets, in which Roosters fullback James Tedesco was favoured to win the medal in back-to-back years, is likely to cause thousands of dollars in refunds to punters.
Markets opened before a ball had been kicked and the competition was suspended due to the COVID-19 outbreak following the first two rounds.
The NRL wrote to all bookmakers on Thursday morning and said the Australian Rugby League Commission has given a directive there be no betting on the Dally M Medal in 2020.
The ARLC met on Wednesday to discuss a range of issues.
Two executives of sports data company StatEdge, which compiled the voting results for the NRL, were last week 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.
More to come
Get our Morning & Evening Edition newsletters
The most important news, analysis and insights delivered to your inbox at the start and end of each day. Sign up to The Sydney Morning Herald’s newsletter here and The Age’s newsletter here.