Sports betting and corruption: How to preserve the - SportAccord

Sports betting and corruption: How to preserve the integrity of sport
1. Integration into the sports movement: information and
deterrence
The sports movement itself is core to preserving the integrity of sport in the face of the growth in
betting. Sports organisations are the first line of defence in preventing corruptors from destroying their
sports. It is vital to establish a set of preventive and punitive measures. Participants in sport must be
dissuaded from embarking on any act of corruption through a two-pronged regulatory and educational
approach.
Awareness has only recently dawned, simultaneously with the explosion of the online betting market
and the revelation of instances of corruption that have raised the levels of concern. After Asian
football was shaken by multiple scandals in the 1990s and 2000s, the threat expanded, moving into
European and international competitions (in which Asian gamblers are very interested) and
contributing towards the rapid development of the market. The disclosure of the case of referee
Hoyzer in Germany in 2005 helped to alert the world of sport to the risks being run. The affair of the
Sapina network, which manipulated tens (if not hundreds) of matches in Europe in 2009, certainly
received very little media coverage in comparison with the scale of the phenomenon, but it gave rise to
a profound awareness in the world of sport. Recent years have effectively borne witness to a growing
mobilisation within the world of sport, but one that is however still limited to certain people and
certain sports. Ever since the International Olympic Committee (IOC) incorporated a prohibition on
betting in its Code of Ethics in 2006, it has been encouraging federations and the sports movement in
general to do the same. The IOC indicated its desire to attack the issue on the occasion of a seminar in
June 2010 which ended in recommendations for the sports movement based on four avenues of action:
� incorporating the issue of betting in internal regulations
� establishing programmes of communication, education and prevention
� setting up a working group on the issue of the surveillance of sports betting
� cooperation with the public authorities 93 .
Recognition of the risk within the sports movement is still embryonic, and for the moment it is more a
question of empirical thinking than structural integration. The complexity of the sporting institutional
network requires reflection with regard to all its components. The priority area of focus is prevention
and anticipation, which can be achieved by incorporating standards in sporting regulations and
establishing programmes to raise awareness among participants in sport. The world of sport is still not
particularly familiar with the risks to which it is exposed because it does not always fully understand
the world of betting and gambling. More precisely, it is only gradually discovering the complex
techniques associated with betting opportunities, in addition to the match rigging they can lead to.
There is substantial education to be undertaken on two levels, firstly the management and trainers,
who must be able to tap into general expertise in sports betting and the associated criminal risks in
93 Recommendations for the IOC seminar "Sports Betting: A Challenge to be Faced", 24 June 2010
(http://www.olympic.org/Documents/Conferences_Forums_and_Events/2010-06-
24_Final_Recommendations_IOC_seminar_eng.pdf)
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