THE AFL today announced it had concluded an investigation into betting on AFL matches or events, in contravention of AFL regulations.

AFL general manager of football operations Adrian Anderson said the AFL had conducted an extensive investigation into betting trends in the game between the Gold Coast Suns and Hawthorn, played at Metricon Stadium in round 24.

The AFL entered into information sharing agreements nearly two years ago with all major bookmakers in Australia, as part of a range of measures to protect the integrity of the sport, and enabling AFL Integrity Manager Brett Clothier to complete the investigation.

Mr Anderson said the AFL's rules around gambling on the AFL were clear.

"All AFL players, coaches, umpires and officials can be in no doubt that betting on the AFL is prohibited and they can not disclose inside information when it could be used for betting purposes," Mr Anderson said.

Mr Anderson said the following actions had been taken;
 
Nathan Bock - Gold Coast Suns player:

- Nathan Bock has been suspended for the opening two matches of the 2012 Toyota AFL Premiership Season. Bock was also fined $10,000. He will be able to play during the pre-season NAB Cup competition, before the suspension is enacted for the start of the premiership season.
- In the lead-up to the round 24 match, Bock told a friend in South Australia and a close relative that he was likely to play forward in that weekend's game against Hawthorn. The relative told another member of Bock's family, who was based in Western Australia.
- The information leaking from Bock saw him backed in from 100-1 to 20-1 to kick the first goal of the match, and resulted in approximately $40,000 in winning bets in Western Australia and South Australia.
- This case occurred after the cases involving Collingwood players Heath Shaw and Nick Maxwell, which were widely publicised within the football community.
-  Mr Anderson said the AFL had completed its interviews with Nathan Bock this week.

While the penalty reflects the serious nature of the offending and the need to safeguard the integrity of the competition, in determining penalty, Mr Anderson said the AFL had also taken into account Bock's honesty and co-operation throughout the investigation and the fact that he admitted he breached the rules.

Furthermore, Mr Anderson said it was the AFL's view that while player Bock was reckless, at no stage intended to disclose information for betting purposes.

The League had conducted an extensive investigation to establish this, involving a review of phone records, CCTV footage, betting records and interviews with a number of witnesses as part of its investigation.

"I wish to thank AFL Integrity Manager Brett Clothier and AFL Intelligence Co-Ordinator Abraham Haddad for their thorough and professional investigation into this matter."