The AFL's general manager football operations, Adrian Anderson, told afl.com.au the data base would allow the League to analyse and cross-check information to help it detect players or officials who may bet on matches.
Anderson said the AFL's integrity officer Brett Clothier - one of only three appointed to Australian sporting organisations - had investigated procedures put into place by British horseracing, FIFA, UEFA, the International Tennis Integrity Unit and the ICC.
"The idea of the database is not about us getting any new information from what we get already, but it's a way of storing information, analysing it and assessing it that allows us to use the information we've got better," Anderson said.
"Rather than information coming in in different ways and being kept in various places, it's consolidated and once that happens, the system has tools to allow you to search and analyse the information so it can be combined.
"It's really an assistance in understanding where risks are to the integrity of the game."
Clothier, who previously worked for Racing Victoria, has been with the AFL for two and a half years after the League identified a need to enforce preventative measures to all forms of corruption.
"We don't have any evidence of corruption at the AFL. It's about being ahead of the game and being proactive in preventing this becoming an issue," Anderson said.
"We've undertaken a range of measures to do that. We've reviewed all our rules and procedures relating to integrity, which includes expanding the powers of investigation and access to information like telephone records and rules about inside information.
"We require all football staff to be registered so checks can be done on all staff at games.
"We've also developed an anti-corruption and investigations capability so one of the most important things we've put in place is information sharing agreements with all the bookmakers, which gives us access to betting information and also provides us with an opportunity to approach specific bet types where there may be concerns."
Bookmakers are required to report suspicious betting transactions or patterns to the AFL and the League is in regular contact with major bookmakers to discuss and monitor betting trends and patterns.
Using these agreements, the AFL carries out detailed checks to ensure players and officials do not bet on the AFL.
As far as available technology allows, the AFL also performs checks to monitor whether players or officials are betting using other persons’ accounts.
The AFL has also introduced stricter guidelines around team selection, and comprehensive education programs for players and officials to help address any threat of corruption in the game.
Anderson said the recent betting scandals in international cricket and the NRL illustrated the constant challenge the AFL faced in enforcing its policy that no one involved in football can gamble on it.
"You can never afford to be complacent in this area and what we're trying to highlight is, it's not lost on us about how important this is to the integrity of the game," he said.
"It's something we've invested a lot of time and effort into, and we're going to continue to focus on.
"We want people who follow the game, who love the game, to understand it's not something we take very seriously and feel a real onerous responsibility and we won't lose sight of that."
