Suspicious Proton Trading Fund in Australia Recruits AFL Stars

Through its Pro Punter Instagram account, the Sydney-based Proton Trading Fund claims to have a USD 10 million pool to bet on the Australian Football League.

The news that shakes the Australian Football League (AFL) in the past days is that the Proton Trading Fund (PTF) from Sydney tried to recruit high class athletes from the AFL into the scheme. This would have been anything but a scandalous news, if PTF was not known as an institution that is closely related to sports betting. Through the Pro Punter Instagram account, the trading fund claimed to have a USD10 million pool to bet on the Australian Football League(AFL), horse racing and cricket. This pool refers to the local Betfair exchanges as well as the international markets. As gambling news report, the case raised lots of worries in the Australian public especially concerning the race and match fixing.

Officials of AFL are not willing to speak about the Proton Trading Fund

Gillon McLachlan, chief executive of the Australian Football League told the media that he is not familiar with the issue but that he would investigate it thoroughly. “I don’t know much about this one, I’ll get to the bottom of it,” said McLachlan for the 3AW journalists that raised the question. From the Herald Sun also asked for an explanation in the offices of the Australian Football League but they didn’t get an answer. AFL refused to comment although from sources close to the league it is known that they are scanning the case already.

• PTF claims that investing in the fund by athletes is legal
• AFL to investigate thoroughly the issue
• The police is well familiar with the PTF case

The scandals in the Australian sports when online betting is concerned, seem not to have an end. In may this year the Australian Football Federation (FFA) made a public appeal to the players, stressing that it is of crucial importance for them to comply with the rules when internet betting in Australia is concerned. What is at stake here is the integrity of football as a sport that needs to be preserved. The whole issue with players betting on sports in Australia became popular after several players from Western Australia were involved in sports betting activities on matches from their Leagues.

The Proton Trading Fund object of investigation by journalists

The minister responsible for gaming in Tonny Abbott’s government, Jane Garrett, showed her worry concerning the trend of sports betting among athletes. She even ordered the Office of Liquor, Gaming, and Racing to start an investigation in which all the information will also be shared with the AFL. “I’m concerned about the conduct of this business and that’s why I’ve demanded a full investigation into any possible breaches. We have strict regulations around betting and sporting codes, and it’s important that the community has confidence in the integrity of our sport.”

However, as online sportsbooks in Australia note a controversial leaflet that appeared at the Pro Punter Instagram account claimed the opposite. According to this flyer professional athletes are able to ¬invest in the Proton Trading Fund without violating the code concerning gambling policy in their sports. Why this is the case was also explained on this flyer. The players are not the ones that place the investments for the fund. They also don’t give advices as to what the fund should invest on, or how to invest. So in the end there is nothing that violates the gambling code they are obliged to respect.

The Proton Trading Fund offered this scheme through Instagram and mails. A former player in the AFL even followed their Instagram profile but didn’t invest anything in the fond. Herald Sun was, however, investigating the issue for three months. During this period they found out several important documents, betting summaries, screen shots of account balances as well as invitations for joining the club.

Now the Pro Punter account is closed. The documents about PTF that can be found in the Australian Security Investment Commission (ASIC) name two addresses in Sydney as bases of the company. The Herald Sun visited both addresses. However the Macquarie St apartment did not exist at the number written in the documents and the Surry Hills address was the site of a closed restaurant. An official of PTF came out in the media defending the legitimacy of the fund. He claimed that any professional athletes involved with the fond are personal friends or friends of friends to the officials of PTF. This however was not an explanation that will stop the police from investigating the case. The Victoria Police stated that they are aware of the existence of the fond but did not gave any further detail about their current or future actions in regard to its work.