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The NRL has been issued with a ''please explain'' in relation to the suspicious betting surrounding the final home-and-away game between the Roosters and the North Queensland Cowboys.
The state government regulator, the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation, has written to NRL chief executive David Gallop seeking details of the code's integrity systems and how they were applied in relation to the Roosters' round-26 game.
The letter may be the first step in a wider investigation, depending on the NRL reply. The Herald revealed last month there was bitter division within the Roosters team because of fears a small group of players had manipulated the result of the match against the Cowboys on September 6 to extend their loss beyond 13 points.
The Roosters went from being 16-6 ahead at half-time to losing the game by 32-16, leaving the bookmakers and betting agencies with a payout of between $4 and $5.50 to the large number of punters who had backed the Roosters to lose by 13 points plus.
It has been alleged that some of those Roosters players then ''celebrated'' winning the wooden spoon by visiting a brothel where they were provided with free services.
The Herald revealed the results of several games were being questioned by people close to the Roosters camp. Yesterday the executive commissioner of the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation, Peter Cohen, told the Herald he had asked for a written response from the NRL so the commission could be satisfied the NRL had appropriate and adequate integrity systems in place.
Cohen said the NRL had been given privileged status as a sporting organisation - which protects the code in its dealings with bookmakers
in Victoria - and he wanted to be assured that the NRL had the correct integrity systems in place.
''We want to satisfy ourselves that there are no particular issues of concern,'' Cohen said. ''This is one of the steps we undertake, we don't see it as a major thing.''
Last night the NRL chief executive said he would review the handling of the betting allegations and respond to the regulator as soon as possible.
''We will review it and then give a response,'' said Gallop, who had earlier called for any players or officials with knowledge to come forward.
The NRL had conducted some preliminary investigations into the match but could not find any evidence to take the matter further. Gallop had previously called on regulatory authorities to step in to help investigate any suspicious matches.
Victoria's gambling regulator is also investigating the issue of ''tanking'' in the AFL - teams deliberately losing or not doing everything they can to win in order to improve their draft picks - to determine if it is occurring and what impact it may have on the integrity of betting on AFL matches.
It is understood the regulator became concerned about the NRL from media reports and some bookmakers.
The Herald revealed that one Roosters player openly accused a teammate of getting some kind of kickback. ''I'm aware that several of the players have been up there [to the brothel] on a weekly basis throughout the year.
''On occasions they are receiving free services. I don't know why or how that works. Why you would want to involve yourself in those types of circles when you are a professional sportsman, I do not know.''
On the morning of the match, the nation's biggest sports agency, TAB Sportsbet, suspended betting because of the weight of money on the Cowboys winning by more than 13 points.
''We've got a lot of worries about the betting activity on this game,'' a TAB spokesman, Glenn Munsie, said at the time.
Sources close to the club claimed that there had been an arrangement in place for several years involving a Roosters scout who offered to supplement the wages of younger players with bonus payments in order to aid exotic bets.
The source said that because those requests were not intended to alter the result - rather influencing the losing margins or the half-time score - it was easier to draw the youngsters in. ''It's been happening for years. You can take it as being 120 per cent,'' he said.
Under NRL rules it is illegal for players and officials to be involved in betting. It is also incumbent on anyone having any information about betting activities to come forward.
The state government regulator, the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation, has written to NRL chief executive David Gallop seeking details of the code's integrity systems and how they were applied in relation to the Roosters' round-26 game.
The letter may be the first step in a wider investigation, depending on the NRL reply. The Herald revealed last month there was bitter division within the Roosters team because of fears a small group of players had manipulated the result of the match against the Cowboys on September 6 to extend their loss beyond 13 points.
The Roosters went from being 16-6 ahead at half-time to losing the game by 32-16, leaving the bookmakers and betting agencies with a payout of between $4 and $5.50 to the large number of punters who had backed the Roosters to lose by 13 points plus.
It has been alleged that some of those Roosters players then ''celebrated'' winning the wooden spoon by visiting a brothel where they were provided with free services.
The Herald revealed the results of several games were being questioned by people close to the Roosters camp. Yesterday the executive commissioner of the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation, Peter Cohen, told the Herald he had asked for a written response from the NRL so the commission could be satisfied the NRL had appropriate and adequate integrity systems in place.
Cohen said the NRL had been given privileged status as a sporting organisation - which protects the code in its dealings with bookmakers
in Victoria - and he wanted to be assured that the NRL had the correct integrity systems in place.
''We want to satisfy ourselves that there are no particular issues of concern,'' Cohen said. ''This is one of the steps we undertake, we don't see it as a major thing.''
Last night the NRL chief executive said he would review the handling of the betting allegations and respond to the regulator as soon as possible.
''We will review it and then give a response,'' said Gallop, who had earlier called for any players or officials with knowledge to come forward.
The NRL had conducted some preliminary investigations into the match but could not find any evidence to take the matter further. Gallop had previously called on regulatory authorities to step in to help investigate any suspicious matches.
Victoria's gambling regulator is also investigating the issue of ''tanking'' in the AFL - teams deliberately losing or not doing everything they can to win in order to improve their draft picks - to determine if it is occurring and what impact it may have on the integrity of betting on AFL matches.
It is understood the regulator became concerned about the NRL from media reports and some bookmakers.
The Herald revealed that one Roosters player openly accused a teammate of getting some kind of kickback. ''I'm aware that several of the players have been up there [to the brothel] on a weekly basis throughout the year.
''On occasions they are receiving free services. I don't know why or how that works. Why you would want to involve yourself in those types of circles when you are a professional sportsman, I do not know.''
On the morning of the match, the nation's biggest sports agency, TAB Sportsbet, suspended betting because of the weight of money on the Cowboys winning by more than 13 points.
''We've got a lot of worries about the betting activity on this game,'' a TAB spokesman, Glenn Munsie, said at the time.
Sources close to the club claimed that there had been an arrangement in place for several years involving a Roosters scout who offered to supplement the wages of younger players with bonus payments in order to aid exotic bets.
The source said that because those requests were not intended to alter the result - rather influencing the losing margins or the half-time score - it was easier to draw the youngsters in. ''It's been happening for years. You can take it as being 120 per cent,'' he said.
Under NRL rules it is illegal for players and officials to be involved in betting. It is also incumbent on anyone having any information about betting activities to come forward.
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