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The National LotteryAnalytics can also be used to demonstrate thatmatch fixing or other forms of malpracticehave not been taking place. A good example isthe Centre’s work for the UK National Lotteryvia the Gambling Commission. Given the sizeof the lottery, it is not surprising that a smallnumber of people develop varying levels ofconspiracy theories about the appearance ofcertain numbers or combinations of numbers.Someone might call up and say ‘36 hasappeared three times in the last four weeks,this is clearly impossible and the lottery mustbe a fix’. So, the Lottery uses statisticians atthe Centre to run a series of tests to show itis random and nobody is cheating or beingcheated. People tend to think it’s extremelyunlikely that two consecutive balls will appearin the lottery and complain if this happens ona regular basis.It should be possible toflag up an event thatdoesn’t ring true, possiblycaused by a large volumeof abnormal betting.In fact, quite simple probability theoryreveals that the odds of consecutive numbersappearing is actually nearly 0.5 and so willhappen nearly every other week in thelong run.MBA in Sports BusinessThe intention of the new Centre is to bemore than a hub for research, however.From January 2014 it will offer an MBAin sports business, designed to producetomorrow’s leaders of the sporting world.While a few other British universities offer anMBA in sports management, no other Centreis able to offer the range and depth ofexpertise; for example, Salford was rankedsecond worldwide for sports economicsresearch in a 2009 review.The Centre is fortunate in that the reputationof its members has attracted prominentindustry figures right from the start. As well ashis launch lecture, Rick Parry has agreed to givea series of talks to MBA students. So, as wellas traditional lecturers drawn from academia,leading representatives from the sportingworld will teach modules and give lectures toMBA students. Perhaps the last word on thenew Centre for Sports Business should go toits director, Dr Ian McHale."You only have to look at the interest andexcitement last year’s Olympics brought to theUK to see how much sport matters to us. Andof course it is not just here that sport meansso much – sport is a global business and tome, there is no doubt about it, it is the mostexciting business there is."Here at Salford we are extremely fortunate inhaving a group of academics who, during thelast ten years and more, have earned a globalreputation for high-quality research in each ofour subject disciplines when applied to sport.This group of people now form the Centre forSports Business."So who are we? We have expertisein statistics, economics, business andmanagement and law. We already constitutewhat is arguably the leading collection ofresearchers into quantitative analysis in sportsfrom around the world."But it is not just research we do – we areheavily involved in consultancy projects withinthe sports and betting industry. From developingthe EA SPORTS Player Performance Index toadvising governments and sport’s governingbodies on strategies to detect and preventCentre for Sports BusinessThe Centre for Sports Business promotesresearch and consultancy in sportsstatistics and analytics, sport finance,sports law and the economics of sport.It boasts a continued record of worldrenownedresearch with its memberspublishing their work in top-ratedacademic journals.To discuss a PhD, business or studyproposal, please contact the Director,Dr Ian McHale on +44 (0)161 295 4765or i.mchale@salford.ac.uk.Co-Director Professor Chris Brady can becontacted on +44 (0)7956 575278.To receive research findings, reports andpapers, please send your details tosportsbusiness-sbs@salford.ac.ukwww.salford.ac.uk/sports-businessmatch fixing, the Centre for Sports Business isalready at the heart of the sports business."The primary concern of a university is itsstudents and teaching. We are currentlydeveloping an MBA in Sports Business –designed to produce tomorrow’s chiefexecutives and leaders in the sports industry."May 2013 | 13