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Global gambling giant Bet365 has apologised to the senate after children were dressed in its branded clothing during a fundraising event at a local racecourse.

In April, the children were invited to take part in a running relay at Terang Racing Club. The winning team would receive $1000 from Bet365, which would be donated to a local sports club. Footage of the event was broadcast on the Racing.com website. The footage shows children wearing racing bibs and caps with the Bet365 logo while taking part in the race.

At one point in the broadcast, the host is heard saying: “I look over (at one team) and the average age I reckon is about 13 or 14. What’s going on there?”

One parent at the racecourse objected to children being draped in clothing from the gambling industry and complained to ACT independent senator, David Pocock , who raised the matter with Bet365 during a parliamentary inquiry.

In a response tabled to the inquiry, Bet365 said it had not been aware of its clothing being distributed to children and would never have allowed this to happen:

double quotation mark Bet365 is sorry that this happened and would like the community to know that it has never and will never authorise or cause minors to wear Bet365 clothing or marketing.

Bet365 takes its legal and regulatory responsibilities very seriously and was shocked and embarrassed to learn that its branding had been used in this way.

Bet365 said the decision to dress the children in its clothes was taken by volunteers from the Terang Racing Club. The club has been contacted for comment.