AFL leaves other codes in the dust Dominant ... AFL revenue far outweighs any other Australian sport. The AFL is the biggest money spinner among the football codes, raking in three times the revenue of the NRL, four times that of the A-League and six times that of rugby union, a private report says. The AFL, which has just kicked off its 2013 winter season, pulled in $425 million in ticket sales, sponsorships, television rights and merchandise last year, research from business information analysts IBISWorld said. The figures place the AFL ahead of the NRL, which generated $185 million in revenue last season from broadcast rights, sponsorship and gate receipts, as rugby union picked up about $70.1 million. From AFL to netball ... the changes in the number of spectators over the years. Football's A-League and other matches are estimated to have reaped $95.2 million in revenue in its current summer season, compared to $205.6 million for Cricket Australia and $185.7 million for Tennis Australia. All the winter footy codes are expected to lift their revenue by 2.5 per cent to a total of $646.6 million this season, the report said. The NRL is also expected to receive a large lift as the $1.025 billion, five-year broadcast rights deal kicks in this season. The ARL Commission said in its annual meeting last month that it expects revenue to rise to $284 million this year. Last year, the Football Federation Australia (FFA) signed a four-year, $160-million broadcast rights deal that will see A-League and Socceroo matches shown on SBS and Foxtel. "Football in Australia is beginning to get its head above water in a financial sense," FFA chief executive David Gallop said. Our new media deals will open new opportunities through combined pay television and free-to-air coverage. ... The game has broken into the mainstream of Australian sport and this will allow growth across revenue items in the next few years. At the same time, sports betting is continuing its rise and is projected to grow by 3.2 per cent for the 2012-13 footy season to $325.6 million in revenue, the amount pocketed by betting agencies after they pay out punters, as the growth in sports club memberships and ticket sales stagnates. Both trends are in part due to the increasing access to live games and gambling sites online and on mobile devices, IBISWorld Australia general manager Karen Dobie said. "Despite the general upward trend in unique spectators, spectator growth has begun to plateau over the past five years, largely due to the increasing volume and quality of TV and online coverage, as well as smartphone applications allowing and encouraging fans to tune in from home and when on the run," Ms Dobie said. The AFL continues to attract the most spectators each season, with 2.83 million unique spectators - someone who attends a game at least once - in 2012, ahead of 1.56 million for rugby league. The A-League and other football matches attracted 938,800 spectators in its previous season, while rugby union games drew 575,500 people. Last year, a report by audit and consulting firm Deloitte and commissioned by bookmaker sportsbet.com.au found that betting on the AFL and NRL was projected to double in the next five years to $3.3 billion on the back of the growth in online sports gambling. Annual betting on the two biggest football codes, AFL and NRL, was about $900 million and $750 million respectively, the report found. Revenue generated by the sporting codes for the 2012 and 2012-13 seasons AFL $425 million NRL $135.5 million Cricket Australia $205.6 million Tennis Australia $185.7 million A-League $95.2 million Rugby Union $70.1 million