London, May 6 (ANI): The Australian Olympic Committee has said that they will not seek to profit from gambling on the London Olympics, saying it would be hypocritical to do so.
The moral decision taken by the AOC now puts them on different levels from other sporting bodies such as the AFL, the NRL and cricket, which make small fortunes from the millions of dollars through sponsorships on their sports.
"We talked about whether we should, in principle, do it or not do it, and we said at this point in time that we wouldn't do it," The Age quoted AOC Chairman, John Coates, as saying.
"If I'd wanted to ram it through [before the London Olympics] and they'd all supported it I could be out there tomorrow trying to get some legislation and trying to do it. But I didn't pursue it and no one wanted me to pursue it. We're only relevant for a short period, the other sports are every weekend," he added.
However, Coates outlined that the AOC did not look down upon on the sports that profited from gambling.
"We absolutely respect their autonomy and right to make these decisions. It's just that we'll do what's right for the Olympic movement without making any aspersions on the others," he claimed.
The AOC was told initially that about 800,000 dollars was bet on the 2008 Beijing Olympics with Australian betting agencies.
However, a board member clarified that the figure for the London 2012 Olympics was estimated to be around 5 million dollars. (ANI)
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