AFL Betting Scandal....Again

Seems the AFL has got a problem with the announcement that Gold Coast Suns Player, Nathan Bock has been found guilty of providing inside information to family members enabling them to win $40,000 collectively on bets.  Bock has been banned for 2 games and fined $20,000.

AFL operations manager, Adrian Anderson, has stated "We viewed this case more seriously because it happened after Maxwell and Shaw".
"We think more and more, there is no excuse for payers not to be aware of the gambling rules and not to act in accordance with them.  Each time it happens, the sanctions will continue to increase"

What puzzles me is how you give a player higher punishment for an offense because someone else committed the same one.  Maxwell did the same thing and was only fined $5000.  I do not have a problem with a player being punished harshly but I do have a problem with inconsistency in how the punishment is handed out.  And when you add to the fact that Maxwell plays for Collingwood, a team that Eddie McGuire always makes sure gets off as lightly as possible it smacks of incompetency.   Bock did the wrong this yes, but surely he should not be punished heavier because of someone else'[s similar mistake or for the fact that he is smart enough to not want to wear black and white.

Anderson has blatantly stated that prior offenses comitted will affect everyone.  If this is the case then why not punish the AFL officials who got into bed with betting agencies in the first place and were happy to sign off on deals for sponsorship.  If the AFL was serious they would ensure that no part of their game had any association with gambling.  When you state odds before and during a game you cannot complain when your game becomes  embroiled in illegal acts.  If you take money from the devil, then you are sleeping with the devil.  Once you have have slept with the devil it is hard to get a clean image.  If the AFL wants to be serious on this issue then the simple answer is life time bans, but the AFL can only do this if it cuts itself off completely from anything to do with gambling.  But I can't see the AFL doing this anytime soon.