Midfielder Lachie Hunter is understood to have told AFL investigators that a bet was placed on a Western Bulldogs game using his account.

Several media outlets and the AFL website have named the 20-year-old as one of two players at the centre of an unfolding betting scandal.

The Bulldogs confirmed on Thursday night that they went to the league on Saturday after being made aware of “some betting activities by an AFL listed player and a VFL listed player of the club”.

The club added the two players had self-reported and were cooperating fully with the league.

Hunter, 20, is the son of former Bulldogs player Mark Hunter and has played 23 senior games for the ‘Dogs since his 2013 debut.

The bet was allegedly made during the Bulldogs’ seven-point loss to Melbourne last Saturday in Ballarat.

Hunter did not play in the match and is said to have told investigators that he had no knowledge of the bet.

The matter is particularly serious because the bet was allegedly for the Bulldogs to lose.

The league has a strict anti-gambling policy in that players, coaches and officials are not allowed to bet on games.

Four years ago, former Essendon assistant coach Dean Wallis received a 14-week ban for betting.

Heath Shaw, then playing for Collingwood, also received an eight-week ban for betting earlier that year and teammate Nick Maxwell was fined for a related offence.

The betting scandal is another publicity disaster for the league only a fortnight before the start of the regular season.

Earlier this week, it was revealed that veteran Fremantle tagger Ryan Crowley was under provisional suspension after he tested positive to a banned painkiller.

And on March 31, two days before the season starts, the AFL anti-doping tribunal will hand down its verdicts on 34 current and past Essendon players.