Two television personalities have unintentionally been caught up in the NRL's Dally M betting scandal, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
Bryan Fletcher and Paul Kent names have appeared on betting records provided to police who are investigating the use of inside information to successfully bet on Melbourne Storm's Craig Bellamy to win the coach of the year award in 2019.
Former New South Wales and Australian player Fletcher and journalist Kent are both employees of Fox Sports. Fletcher hosts the Fox's NRL 360 program and writes for News Crop's The Daily Telegraph. Three weeks after voting was finalised, Fox Sports broadcast the end of season Dally M awards ceremony on October 2 2019.
Both Fletcher and Kent voted for Bellamy to win the award, according to sources. Their bets had been flagged by the NRL to police. There has been no suggestion that the pair had any prior knowledge that Bellamy would win the award when they placed their bets.
Fletcher and Kent have remained tight lipped about the scandal. So too has Fox Sports Head of Television Steve Crawley.
Two executives of sports data company StatEdge, which collected the voting results for the NRL, were charged last week with using prior knowledge to bet on the result of the coach of the year award.
An email from General Manager of StatEdge, Ben Trevisiol, was sent to the NRL just after 6pm on September 13 which notified the winners of each four categories, including coach of the year. Police will allege within an hour of sending the email Trevisiol and StatEdge's chief executive Joshua Wilson started betting on Bellamy.
According to police facts, Wilson admitted to the NRL integrity unit soon after the awards night he had passed on information to friends at an eastern suburbs pub shortly after emailing the results to the NRL. He had told them he made a "stupid mistake".
NRL analysts uncovered betting information which found more than $20,000 was won on the Bellamy award, including an individual bet which could win as much as $10,000.
"Novelty" markets have a restricted size of bets that can be placed by bookmakers due to concerns with the integrity of pre-determine outcomes, such as winners of awards and television shows like Survivor and MasterChef.
After being contacted by The Sydney Morning Herald about Fletcher and Kent's bets, a New South Wales Police spokesman said: "NSW Police continue to work closely with the NRL and sports betting agencies as part of investigations and anyone with information that may assist detective is urged to contact Crime Stoppers".
Last week, NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith said "the integrity of the NRL competition is paramount to NSW Police".
Wilson and Trevisiol are due to appear at Downing Centre Local Court on August 20.
