All Blacks NZ Rugby Team Popularity Among Bettors
It all began shortly after the game of rugby became a professional sport, sports gambling became a legal act in New Zealand in 1996. From then till now, a lot has changed as regards the nature and norms around sports gambling among kiwis.
Originally, it was a war against emotions which was the propelling factor. Then, the form didn’t matter. All that mattered was what the heartfelt was right. But with time, Kiwis began to get more precise with the decisions they make as regards the markets they place their stakes on.
TAB’s personal, Stafford commented saying, “I would sum New Zealand [sports gamblers] up as very educated now.” According to Stafford, bettors now shun the culture of betting by heart and now pay good attention to the form of these teams and the statistics provided to make informed decisions as regards their bets.
The Prominence Of The All Blacks NZ Rugby Team
This change has seen the All Blacks Rugby team become a favourite among bettors at the 2019 Rugby World Cup. For instance, the cancellation of the final pool game involving the All Blacks at the 2019 Rugby World Cup was a relieving announcement for a particular outstanding bettor who had $100,000 on New Zealand to emerge as the tournament unbeaten winner.
The game to be played against Italy was repealed due to Super Typhoon Hagibis. The bettor had placed two $50,000 wagers at gambling sites listed at CasinoDeps.co.nz with the TAB and was on course to land a big win if the All Blacks emerge winners of their next three games.
For Mark Stafford, that was one of the eye-catching bets he had come across even though there were significant possibilities that the All Blacks could lose their crown to countries like South Africa and England.
He even believed that most bettors did not pay attention to the chances of Australia, the former two-time winner of the competition, coming out victorious.
“No-one’s talking about them. To me, they’re the smartest team in the world, they’re just battling for depth.”
Even though Stafford agreed that the new outstanding depth of New Zealand’s team has made them favourites amongst bettors and rightfully so. Yet, the English team hovered as a notably improved team and were a credible “tournament team” on course to land good wins in their three successive knockout games.
The Bets And Responsible Gambling
The thrills, promotions, and the attention the last Rugby World Cup attracted gave rise to the number of bets placed on the tournament. However, Stafford didn’t feel it trespassed the line of caution as far as the promotion of responsible gambling is involved.
For Stafford, the kind of promotional ads that were on display was simply similar to “buying a barbecue and getting some free steak knives”.
This is not the same feeling as Andrée? Froude, from the Problem Gambling Foundation. He is not a fan of such TAB publicities. She even refers to some of these publicities as “inducements” that can beguile minors and vulnerable individuals.
She explained that “It can exacerbate problem gambling, it targets people too. We run the risk of having a whole new demographic of problem gamblers.”
Andrée Froude also posited that the impression of betting as a normal was one Australia that has persisted for far too long. For her, New Zealand seemed to be treading the same path as Australia where the gambling culture is dominant.
“Pokies are by far the most harmful [form of gambling], but online gambling is growing exponentially, ” she said.
Froude reckoned there must be rigid regulations guiding gambling advertising and promotions. She said traces of problem gambling arising are frequently concealed. She said, “It can start with people being a bit secretive and anxious.”
The Bets Promotional Adverts’ Review
In 2019, The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) exclusively examined the regulations guiding betting ads, and the Gambling Advertising Code became effective on November 4, the same year.
Hilary Souter, an authority chief executive explained that betting promotion had to demonstrate lofty regard for their social responsibility, and any needed to be directed at only the right audience.
“It’s about making sure you talk to the right audience. We talk about how you set the scene around the chances of winning, and whether there are unrealistic chances of winning,” he explained.
In 2019, three official ASA complaints were made involving the TAB, where two of these complaints never moved on, and the last one was not confirmed.
An ad that said: “Join the TAB, deposit $10 and get a $20 bonus bet. TAB – Now you’re in the game, ” was the subject of one of the complaints.
P. Curtis, the complainant, was worried the ad had “no warnings provided of the dangers towards people with gambling addictions also making it easy to gamble from your home computer and smartphone. There should be warning signs written all over this.”
However, the ASA did not have enough premises to forge ahead with the complaint because the ASA was restricted to the content and placement of ads. More so, for them, the advertiser was advertising a product with legal backing for a proper age term.
