Should NRL players be allowed to bet on themselves?

Betting and the NRL have long been associated, peaking in 2023 when the game’s organisers headed to Las Vegas to try to profit from the US gambling dollar.

Under current league rules, players are not permitted to gamble on rugby league and the NRL has the right to monitor their betting accounts in order to ensure the rule is not being broken.

Gold Coast Titans star AJ Brimson is the latest to come under fire for allegedly betting on rugby league after he posted a bet slip to his Instagram account which showed him placing a bet on a first try scorer market.

Although the NRL integrity unit continues to investigate Brimson’s case, the incident gave SEN’s Scott Sattler the idea of allowing players to bet on their own teams to win.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this out loud, there is an argument that players should be allowed to bet on their own games only for a win,” Sattler said on SEN 1170 Sportsday.

“Not any other just their own… just head-to-head win that’s it.

“Look at Tonga on the weekend, they were paying $3.50 to beat New Zealand, I thought they were every chance of winning that game, now if a group of Tongan players said ‘I think we’re going to win this game so we’re going to put money at $3.50 because we think we’re good enough’.

“I think they should reap those rewards.”

Sattler’s co-host, Mat Rogers was reluctant to back the idea due to the player’s ability to influence the outcome of a game.

“There is an argument to say that, the challenge is, if it’s just a straight win maybe,” Rogers added.

“But when you start to get into points spreads, overs, unders, you’ve got all this sort of stuff that players can genuinely affect.”