Oz Olympic officials concerned over betting 'hypocrisy' during London Games

Sydney, May 5 (ANI): Officials of the Australian Olympics Committee (AOC) have expressed concerns over the 'hypocrisy' of seeking money from betting agencies at the same time as trying to root out illegal gambling in the sport during the London Olympics.

AOC President John Coates claimed that the organization's executive committee had a "good talk" about the issue and said that they would like to discuss the matter more before taking any decision on it.

"First there would have to be some legislative recognition and some agreement by the IOC that we could have the intellectual property and do something with it. But we are not going to go down that route until this settles down," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Coates, as saying.

"The hypocrisy of suddenly putting our hand out and doing an agreement is something that bothers a number of us. There are all sorts of betting. Individual sports may say no to spread betting, and just have win or lose. We'll look at all of that," he added.

When asked whether any other sport such as the football should be wary of the issue, Coates said, "They're there already. They have passed that point."

AOC is expected to get some share of the money which would be raised by IOC from betting agencies during the course of London Olympics.

"We're not talking a lot of money, two per cent of that or something. It's not going to break the AOC's bank to decline or wait," Coates outlined.

According to estimates up to 5 million dollars may be bet on the London Olympics. (ANI)