Sports betting and corruption: How to preserve the - SportAccord

Sports betting and corruption: How to preserve the integrity of sport
course of their professional experience. This can also make contact easier with local police authorities.
The approach is appropriate for highly popular and particularly exposed sports, but does not
necessarily suit less widespread disciplines, which may have limited resources. National police only
intervene in response to offences, as cases brought to court by the law or the police are reliant on the
existence of a (presumed) violation of the law, or of catching someone in the act. For example in
France the Service Courses et Jeux (Racing and Gambling Department) - a department of the criminal
police force - can carry out investigations only in the event of criminal offences. No affairs connected
with sports betting are handled by them at the present time. The preliminary inquiry into the Tours-
Grenoble match (see above) was not pursued because it demanded substantial investigation work that
could not be undertaken by the police force without dedicated resources and the appropriate criminal
classification. In fact, unless explicitly requested to do so, the police are not allowed to question the
protagonists in an affair such as this - particularly the players - to collect information needed for an
inquiry 111 .
A number of countries have however recognised this weakness, and incorporated this type of offence
in their penal codes. The offence currently exists in Turkey, Italy, the United Kingdom, Portugal and
Spain, and will soon come into force in Australia. Prison sentences range from a few months to 12
years, depending on the country, and mostly punish the corruptor, although some also envisage
punishing the corruptee (UK law particularly). The question also arises as to whether it is appropriate
to make it mandatory to declare a suspicion, and if so, what should be the penalties for those who fail
to comply?
The Italian law goes back to 1989 and makes provision for the punishment of organisers of corruption
who promise money or any other benefit to a participant. The corrupted player or referee is not
directly involved in the criminal offence, but the law requires an exchange of information between the
public authorities and the sports movement. Thus in the Calciopoli affair in 2006, those responsible
were sentenced on the charges relating to criminal gangs and fraud in sport . The Italian law also
makes provision for an aggravated sentence if the corruption is linked with sports betting.
In 2005, in England, cheating became an offence - this applies both to participants on the field and
those orchestrating such cheating, and carries a range of varying penalties. It is interesting to see that
in the London cricket corruption scandal, the Pakistani cricket players who fixed aspects of games
during international matches received prison sentences of up to two-and-a-half years. The application
of this offence to sportspeople sends a strong message to the entire profession. The publicity given to
criminal sanctions exceeds that of disciplinary sanctions, which are certainly a deterrent for players
concerned about their career, but not particularly so for players who are already caught in the web of
corruption or are coming to the end of their sporting career.
In 2011, Turkey passed a law to the effect that any person convicted of corruption with the aim of
influencing the result of a match is now liable to a five- to 12-year prison sentence and a fine. The
sentence will be increased by a further 50% if the corruption involves officials, club management or
criminal organisations, or if it was committed to influence sports betting results. Criminalising fraud in
sport is a more direct way of exposing unscrupulous club managers who manipulate games either
111 Interview with the Service Courses et Jeux, DCPJ, France, 1 September 2011
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