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Cocaine, gambling and prostitution are rife within the National Rugby League (NRL) of Australia an extensive investigation by the NSW Organised Crime Squad has revealed.
Organized match-fixing was not detected, though police did uncover widespread trade in inside information.
Detectives from Strike Force Nuralda recently met with NRL officials to address these concerns with fears over infiltration of organized crime threatening the integrity of the game.
Previously, suspicious betting patterns had been detected in an April 2016 match between Parramatta and Manly.
From the Sydney Morning Herald:
Fairfax Media has previously revealed that this match turned up an extraordinary betting trail linking organised crime figures, associates of big-time punter Eddie Hayson and football playing brothers Kieran and Liam Foran.
Some of the winnings from a successful plunge on Parramatta to win the match, in which Kieran Foran played for Parramatta, ended up in the TAB accounts of the Foran brothers.
The NRL went to the police after receiving information from a betting agency relating to unusual betting patterns on that match.
The investigation also determined that prostitutes and cocaine were being supplied to players.
Hayson, who is also a brothel owner, previously came forward to confess he had provided footballers with prostitutes for free.
"That is how I was promoting my business," Mr Hayson said. "Word of mouth is a very powerful tool."
When he was asked if he had provided free sex to footballers who played in matches he had gambled on, he declined to respond, The Sydney Morning Herald noted.
- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
