Triple J calls out bookies for betting bonuses on Hottest 100

Triple J has warned listeners against betting on the Hottest 100 – a potential step on “a slippery slope to debt and addiction”, it says – as bookies offer bonuses for those who sign up to pick the winner.

Sportsbet, Ladbrokes, Tom Waterhouse and Palmerbet are all offering their own odds on the Hottest 100.

King Kunta by Kendrick Lamar, Lean On (feat. MØ) by Major Lazer and DJ Snake, the Rubens’ Hoops, and both Let it Happen and The Less I Know The Better by Tame Impala are among the bookies’ favourites to win.

Screenshots of sponsored posts taken by Triple J’s Hack program show Sportsbet.com.au offering a $75 bonus bet in exchange for a $25 first deposit on bets for the Hottest 100.

Bonus bets and unsolicited credit are outlawed in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.

Speaking to Hack, Triple J station manager Chris Scaddan said offering young people inducements to bet was particularly worrying.

“It is concerning that gambling companies are aiming directly at Triple J listeners. We cater to a young audience, an audience that is at a very vulnerable point of their lives financially.

“Ultimately you’re giving the betting company your money. That’s all they’re interested in. They want your money, they want you signed up to their app.

“We think the majority of Triple J listeners are smart enough to see through campaigns like this.”

Scaddan suggested listeners might like to give “spare money” to Triple J’s partner charity, the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience.

“It will make you feel better about yourself than betting on the Hottest 100 will.”

According to research from the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, 20% of people with a gambling problem began gambling before they were 18.

But Sportsbet told Triple J’s Hack the Facebook advertisement would only have been visible by logged-in users aged 18 or over.

Triple J commentator Patrick Avenell, who has made a stab at predicting this year’s outcome himself, said he would prefer if it was not possible to bet on the Hottest 100 – not because he was anti-gambling, but because it ruined the fun of the competition.

“It’s hard to avoid seeing the odds for songs, and bookies tend to be very good at forecasting results, which means that the market have essentially spoilt the countdown,” Avenell said.

He also questioned whether people using these services to bet on the Hottest 100 understood how it worked. “A person who knows 10/1 for a horse means good value doesn’t see that the same price is terrible value for a song to win.”

The small size of the betting pool meant that bookies – able to scan social media in order to count votes, and ending up with more accurate predictions of the Hottest 100 than anyone else – were able to set artificially low odds in order to profiteer. If a punter tried to do this, however, they wouldn’t be able to profit from it thanks to betting limits – some as low as $2 on options.

“The Hottest 100 is a very successful brand for Triple J,” said Avenell. “I would like to know if they can legally stop betting agencies from using their brand to promote a different business.”