Sports integrity experts say the numbers wagered on domestic football games are 'frightening'. Photo / Getty Images
New Zealand’s national football league has become a magnet for offshore betting, raising alarm bells for sport integrity experts.
Figures obtained by RNZ reveal $212m was wagered on the New Zealand men’s domestic football league in 2024 through overseas sports betting platforms - the majority of them based in Asia.
Sports integrity experts say the numbers are “frightening”, warning the surge in betting activity increases the risks of match-fixing and betting-related corruption.
Andrew Scott-Howman, general counsel for the New Zealand Professional Footballers Association (NZPFA), said it was not unusual to see bets totalling $1m placed on a single game in the National League - an amateur competition - through overseas bookies.
The 2024 data indicates between $500,000 and $1.4m was bet on each game.
“We’re talking staggering sums of money,” Scott-Howman said, “and that means the stakes are higher in every regard, because it also means that the risk of bad actors targeting our competitions increases significantly.”
There were a number of factors that increase the national league’s exposure to potential competition manipulation, Scott-Howman said, including its amateur status and New Zealand’s time zone.
“For two hours every Saturday we are the only country in the world that provides live product to the Asian gambling market because football’s not being played anywhere else because of the time.”
It is not just the final score the overseas outfits were taking wagers on.
Some sites offer more than 200 betting markets on New Zealand’s domestic league, with the ability to place bets on everything from the first touch of the ball, to the number of throw-ins, penalty corners, and yellow cards.
These are known as “microbets” - and it is where spot-fixing becomes “dangerously easy”, Scott-Howman said.
The practice has come into sharp focus following a string of betting corruption scandals in Australia’s A-League - including one involving former All White Clayton Lewis.
Lewis will be sentenced for his role in a yellow card manipulation scheme at his former club, Macarthur FC, in Sydney later this week.
The wagering turnover on the men’s national league last year was included in an integrity training seminar delivered by the NZPFA, which works in conjunction with NZ Football to educate the wider football community about the risks of competition manipulation.
The players’ association referred RNZ to NZ Football’s competitions team for a further breakdown of the data, along with betting figures from previous years. But the national body was not as keen to share the numbers publicly.
NZ Football media manager Tris Cotterill instead responded with a statement, claiming NZ Football could not quantify the numbers.
“While it is challenging to give an accurate total figure for overseas wagering, we are aware, especially due to the time zone our competitions run in, they can be popular in foreign markets,” the statement read.
NZ Football declined multiple requests over several weeks to be interviewed for this story. Cotterill did not provide a reason why, saying only that NZ Football “feel your questions would be better answered” in written form.
In a statement, the organisation said it took competition integrity “incredibly seriously” and integrity training was “mandatory” for all players, coaches and officials in the men’s and women’s national league.
“We work with TAB in Aotearoa New Zealand, as well as overseas agencies ... who will report any questionable patterns, as well as any incidents of players or staff involved in the competitions betting on it,” NZ Football said.
While the national body declined to provide further figures on overseas betting figures, it is understood the numbers have increased significantly since the organisation signed a deal with Fifa+ - a streaming platform launched by the sport’s international governing body.
NZ Football was one of the early adopters of the model, partnering with Fifa+ in September 2023 in an effort to make its competitions more accessible to Kiwi fans.
But the deal also means all men’s and women’s national league games, along with selected games in the regional stages of the competition, are available live to international audiences.
Last month, RNZ attended a mid-week Northern League game between the Auckland City and Eastern Suburbs clubs, played at a small suburban club ground in west Auckland, and observed a sophisticated live-streaming set-up.
Scott-Howman said the increased visibility of New Zealand’s amateur football competitions through livestreaming was a “double-edged sword”.
“The visibility of our competition all around the world, thanks to the internet, is a particular risk factor, because that means that overseas punters are now able not only to place bets, but to watch the football that they’ve bet on and that increases the attraction and concentration on New Zealand’s markets,” he said.
NZ Football stressed that no incidences of competition manipulation - a catch-all term that covers match-fixing and spot-fixing - have been detected in New Zealand’s football competitions.
This is backed by data provided by Sportradar - a global technology company that monitors the sports betting industry.
“In monitoring for match manipulation, we have never detected any suspicious matches in domestic competitions in New Zealand,” a spokesperson for the agency told RNZ.
However, there are signs that local footballers are being targeted.
The NZPFA has received reports of players being approached through social media with offers of cash in exchange for influence over a match. Others have reported more elaborate schemes, including individuals posing as Fifa agents and offering fake trials with overseas clubs.
NZ Football confirmed it had received two reports of concern related to potential competition manipulation already this season.
The Sport Integrity Commission was also dealing with a steady trickle of reports across New Zealand sport, receiving 13 complaints or notifications of competition manipulation in its first year of operation.
Chief executive Rebecca Rolls declined to comment on what the agency’s investigations had uncovered, or whether any matters had been referred to police.
“What I would say about that is just because people can’t see it or don’t know about it, doesn’t mean it’s not happening in New Zealand - it absolutely is.”
The amount of money being wagered through overseas sports betting websites was “hugely concerning”, Rolls said.
“It’s frightening, really, when you think about it in the context of New Zealand sport. There’s a number of vulnerabilities that exist in New Zealand sport and I think New Zealanders need to make sure they understand what those risks are.”
Rolls also warned incidences of competition manipulation or attempted approaches by match fixers are likely to be “severely underreported”.
The former dual international said outside of football, the sports that attract the most offshore betting activity are basketball, badminton, tennis and table tennis.