{"id":612574,"date":"2026-04-17T08:50:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T08:50:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/612574\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T08:50:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T08:50:13","slug":"former-afl-players-mitch-robinson-and-rhys-mathieson-caught-spruiking-illegal-online-casinos-on-social-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/612574\/","title":{"rendered":"Former AFL players Mitch Robinson and Rhys Mathieson caught spruiking illegal online casinos on social media"},"content":{"rendered":"

Exclusive: Two former AFL players have been caught spruiking illegal online casinos to their massive social media followers, risking hefty fines and sparking condemnation.<\/p>\n

Ex-Brisbane Lions players Mitch Robinson and Rhys Mathieson actively promote online casino Vegastars, even using the fuel crisis to run a “$5000 giveaway” sponsored by the offshore operator.<\/p>\n

While potentially legal overseas, in Australia, online casino sites \u2014 where users can play poker machines and games like roulette for real money \u2014 are outlawed. <\/p>\n

\"Ex-BrisbaneEx-Brisbane Lions players Mitch Robinson, left, and Rhys Mathieson actively promote online casino Vegastars. (A Current Affair)<\/p>\n

Tim Costello from the Alliance for Gambling Reform slammed the ex-players’ videos as “outrageous”.<\/p>\n

“It’s utterly irresponsible,” he said. <\/p>\n

“Footy players have a duty to young people.”<\/p>\n

Australians are losing about $3.9 billion annually to illegal offshore gambling sites, according to Responsible Wagering Australia, which represents legal bookies.<\/p>\n

Chief executive Kai Cantwell said the unregulated market was growing at two-and-a-half times the rate of the legal, licensed industry.<\/p>\n

He said the illegal websites offered no consumer protections, paid no Australian taxes, and often targeted individuals who had already registered for the national self-exclusion register, BetStop.<\/p>\n

“The whole problem is we don’t have a regulator in Australia,” Costello said.<\/p>\n

\"WhileWhile legal in other parts of the world, websites like Vegastars are banned in Australia. (A Current Affair)<\/p>\n

“How’s it possible that in a country with the greatest gambling losses per head, the greatest gambling harm per head, that we don’t have a regulator?”<\/p>\n

Promoting the illegal websites can attract penalties of up to $2.5 million, according to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), which regulates gambling advertising.<\/p>\n

The ACMA declined an on-camera interview.<\/p>\n

In a statement it said it was “engaging” with social media influencers to warn them of the risks and possible consequences of promoting illegal online casinos.<\/p>\n

\"RobinsonRobinson and Mathieson pictured together on a social media post, with the Vegastars logo visible at the bottom. (A Current Affair)<\/p>\n

“Website blocking is one of the primary ways the ACMA disrupts illegal online gambling services,” it said.<\/p>\n

“Since the ACMA made its first blocking request in November 2019, 1564 illegal gambling and affiliate websites have been blocked.<\/p>\n

“While the Vegastars website has been blocked, we are aware illegal gambling services set up ‘mirror’ sites to circumvent the blocks.<\/p>\n

“We monitor this activity and have re-blocked a number of Vegastars mirror sites.”<\/p>\n

Mathieson and Robinson did not respond to A Current Affair’s repeated requests for comment.<\/p>\n

Their videos and the latest Vegastars website remain online.<\/p>\n

Australian Communications and Media Authority statement<\/p>\n

Influencers<\/p>\n

The ACMA is engaging with social media influencers, including through compliance alerts<\/a>, to warn them of the risks and possible consequences of promoting illegal gambling sites.<\/p>\n

While we don’t comment on ongoing investigations, we are actively looking at a number of social media influencers in relation to potential breaches of the law.<\/p>\n

Many social media influencers have also proactively removed their posts once they understand the legal risks, and we have also had success in having illegal gambling content taken down directly by digital platforms under their terms of service.<\/p>\n

Individual influencers who promote or publicise illegal online gambling services may face civil penalties of up to $59,400 per contravention. Those who facilitate access, such as by providing hyperlinks, risk even higher fines, which can reach up to $2,475,000.<\/p>\n

Blocking<\/p>\n

The ACMA recognises the harm these illegal gambling websites can pose to the Australian public and we use our regulatory powers to restrict access. We use a combination of approaches including disruption, deterrence and consumer awareness.<\/p>\n

Website blocking is one of the primary ways the ACMA disrupts illegal online gambling services. Since the ACMA made its first blocking request in November 2019, 1,564 illegal gambling and affiliate websites have been blocked<\/a>. Over 225 illegal services have also pulled out of the Australian market since the ACMA started enforcing new illegal online gambling rules in 2017.<\/p>\n

While the Vegastars website has been blocked, we are aware illegal gambling services set up ‘mirror’ sites to circumvent the blocks. We monitor this activity and have re-blocked a number of Vegastars mirror sites. The ACMA will continue to block any subsequent mirror sites as they appear.<\/p>\n

We also see website blocking as an effective means of educating consumers in Australia about the risks of using illegal online gambling services, particularly as consumers may see pop-up messaging when they attempt to access blocked sites.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Exclusive: Two former AFL players have been caught spruiking illegal online casinos to their massive social media followers,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":612575,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-612574","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-afl","8":"tag-afl","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-australian-football-league","12":"tag-australianfootballleague","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/612574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=612574"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/612574\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/612575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=612574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=612574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=612574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}