The Western Football Netball League said on Sunday it will keep refusing sports betting sponsorships, continuing a Love the Game partnership it signed in 2016 to combat gambling harm in Melbourne's west.
In a statement published on the WFNL website, the league urged parents and carers across the region to act as positive role models around gambling, citing research on how children's attitudes to betting are shaped by watching their parents.
The Love the Game program now counts more than 600 sporting partners across Victoria, according to the organisation.
WFNL chief executive David Jennings said the league wanted football and netball to remain free of betting influence.
"As a league, the WFNL is dedicated to playing football and netball for the love of the game, not the odds," Jennings said.
The statement cited research showing parents have the greatest influence on their children's attitudes and behaviour when it comes to gambling. It said children introduced to betting at an early age were more likely to experience gambling problems as adults.
According to the release, two in three parents who gamble do so in front of their children, and a quarter of parents reported their child had gambled in the past year.
Common ways children are exposed to a parent's gambling include hearing about wins, being asked to pick "lucky numbers" in lotteries, buying scratchies together, or being taken to gambling venues, the release said.
Jennings said the league saw sport as an alternative outlet for young people.
"Through sport, we can help young people build friendships, resilience, and leadership skills, without the harmful distraction of betting," he said.
He said the Love the Game partnership gave the league tools to educate players and families before they reached legal betting age.
"The Love the Game program equips us with resources to help young people understand how gambling really works, and the risks involved," Jennings said. "By taking a proactive approach, we can help them develop critical thinking skills long before they're legally allowed to bet."
The WFNL traces its history to 1931, when it was formed as the Footscray District Football League. It became the Western Region Football League in 2000 before adopting its current name in 2023.
The league now has 34 member clubs across seven council areas in Melbourne's west, with about 9,200 participants playing senior and junior football and senior netball.
The statement was emailed to newsrooms on October 11, alongside the website posting.