Australian cricket great Glenn McGrath dropped by the ABC over betting agency links | Australia news

Australian cricket legend Glenn McGrath He was removed from ABC commentary duties due to his partnership with a major betting agency.

The former fast bowler was listed in promotional material until last week as the ABC commentator for the Ashes series.

The national broadcaster has a strict rule preventing its staff from entering into commercial partnerships with betting agents.

McGrath’s management team told the ABC about an upcoming partnership with gambling company Bet365 before the decision was made.

_{Sign up: AÜ Breaking News email}

An ABC spokesperson confirmed in a statement that McGrath and the broadcaster had “mutually parted ways”.

“ABC and Glenn McGrath have mutually parted ways for this Ashes. We look forward to seeing Glenn on the field throughout the series and welcome working with him in the future. Our fantastic commentary team, led by Jim Maxwell and Corbin Middlemas, are excited for the first test in Perth this Friday.”

Bet365 and McGrath have also been contacted for comment.

Mitchell Johnson, another former Australian fast bowler, left ABC in 2022 due to his involvement with betting agencies.

Unlike McGrath, Johnson publicly criticized the decision, saying at the time, “You start to wonder what you can do and what you can’t call what you’re calling out.”

“It kind of surprises me: Do we have to make sure we follow ABC’s moral compass? There’s nothing I can do about it… that’s the rule and I guess I won’t work with them,” Johnson said in 2022.

Australian gambling companies regularly partner with former professional athletes to develop their relationships with sports and brand awareness.

A 2023 parliamentary report led by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy found that “celebrity endorsements can be an effective way to market gambling because people are less likely to view something as risky if they trust the person promoting the product.”

Like many major Australian sporting laws, cricket has faced scrutiny due to its links to the gambling industry.

Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja, who will compete in the Ashes He recently said the Albanian government had been “100% too slow” in banning gambling ads and should break the link between betting and sports.

“If the repeated conflation of gambling with sports and athletes shows that you cannot watch sports without gambling, then that sets a very, very dangerous precedent,” Khawaja said.