The AFL has cleared Xavier Ellis of any wrongdoing after the Hawks midfielder revealed one of his relatives had used his account to place bets on matches.

Ellis brought the matter to the attention of Hawthorn and the league earlier this week.

Players and club officials are forbidden from betting on AFL games.

AFL football operations manager Adrian Anderson said a league investigation had confirmed Ellis' explanation that the bets were not placed by him.

"Xavier Ellis and Hawthorn came forward to the AFL and brought this matter to our attention once they became aware that a relative had used his account to place bets involving AFL matches," Anderson said in a statement.

"The investigation confirmed no breach of the AFL regulations.

"The investigation found that no bets were made by Xavier Ellis and he had no knowledge of the bets made by his relative."

Ellis, 20, became aware of the issue when his betting account card was returned by a relative who had been using it for several months.

Most of the bets had been placed on racing, along with some on football games.

"When I found out that my account had been used to place some bets on AFL I felt sick and I knew I had to take it straight to the club," said Ellis.

"Thankfully the AFL investigation has cleared me of any breach of the AFL regulations and I am pleased to have my name cleared."

Last year, the AFL announced a crackdown on football betting by players and officials after four players - Adelaide's Simon Goodwin, Melbourne's Daniel Ward, North Melbourne's David Hale and Sydney youngster Kieren Jack - were named for betting on games.

Goodwin was hit with the biggest fine of $40,000 - half of which was suspended.

Ward and Hale were fined $10,000 apiece and Jack received a reprimand.

At the time, Anderson warned that any further players found guilty of betting on games would face suspension.

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