Four men have been charged over suspicious betting activity on the AFL Brownlow Medal after a years-long probe.

Police arrested the men in late 2022 over the alleged suspicious betting connected to the 2021 and 2022 Brownlow Medal awards.

The allegations related to the leaking of voting outcomes on some specific AFL matches and subsequent betting.

Umpires award Brownlow votes on a 3-2-1 basis after each game, with tight security around the details until the AFL chief executive reads them out on presentation night.

Detectives from Victoria Police’s Sporting Integrity Intelligence Unit on Monday laid 102 charges against the four men, aged between 31 and 35, after what they described as a “protracted investigation”.

Two of the men, a 34-year-old from Glenroy and 31-year-old from Hadfield, both in Melbourne’s north, face charges only over the 2021 event.

A 32-year-old Doreen man and 35-year-old Reservoir man – also from Melbourne’s north – were charged with offences across both awards nights.

The Reservoir man faces more than half the charges, including 34 counts of undertaking a course of conduct to use corrupt conduct information for betting purposes and 15 counts of undertaking a course of conduct to obtain financial advantage by deception.

Port Adelaide’s Ollie Wines won the 2021 award, with Carlton captain Patrick Cripps claiming the Brownlow the following year.

Umpires and other AFL personnel are not allowed to gamble on the game.

The AFL ruled out changes to the voting process after the scandal. In 2023, Victoria’s gambling watchdog unveiled greater safeguards, including spot audits on AFL employees and greater surveillance of umpires.

Payouts were also limited to $250 on all Brownlow round bets.

Cheating at gambling and obtaining financial advantage by deception can carry a sentence of up to 10 years jail in Victoria.

The four men are expected to appear in Melbourne Magistrates Court on September 11 amid the AFL finals series.

An AFL spokesperson acknowledged the work of police but refused to comment any further, citing the matter being before the courts.

-AAP