England coach Brendon McCullum has not breached anti-corruption regulations by being the brand ambassador for a betting company, the England and Wales Cricket Board determined.
The New Zealander has had a partnership with 22Bet and appeared in a series of advertisements for the Cyprus-based bookmaker, including encouraging people to bet on the Indian Premier League on his social media channels.
The ECB looked into the matter and said its anti-corruption code does not prevent players or coaches from becoming brand ambassadors for betting organisations.
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“Discussions have been ongoing with Brendon over the last few days and the matter has been considered from an employer and regulator perspective,” the ECB said. “We can confirm that no further action will be taken.”
The ECB’s anti-corruption code bans participants from betting on games and “directly or indirectly soliciting, inducing, enticing, persuading or encouraging any other party to enter into a bet in relation to the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of any match or competition.”
McCullum has been England Test coach since May and has turned the team around. England has won 10 of its last 12 Tests under McCullum, having previously won one of 17 Tests.
The investigation came after New Zealand’s Problem Gambling Foundation filed a complaint with the ECB and the country’s Department of Internal Affairs (DIA).
Under New Zealand legislation, overseas companies are banned from advertising gambling services to New Zealanders. Advertisements from 22Bet appeared on YouTube.
Google pulled 22Bet advertisements for violating its policies. It came after a flurry of complaints focused on the frequency the advertisements played.
“Google has strict policies that govern the kind of ads we allow on our platform,” a statement from Google read.
“In this instance, we’ve found the ads that violate our policies and we have removed them.
Several reports indicate McCullum is set to end his association with 22Bet, despite escaping a sanction from the ECB.
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