Sports betting and corruption: How to preserve the - SportAccord

Sports betting and corruption: How to preserve the integrity of sport
personally or by associating with criminal organisations to provide them with information or meet
other demands they might make. However, at the end of a highly politicised debate, prison sentences
were recently revised downwards by the Turkish Parliament 112 .
France in its turn is appealing for the creation of such an offence. A report by the President of ARJEL
was recently sent to the French Ministry of Sport to propose its establishment in law with the aim of
preserving the integrity and honesty of sporting competitions 113 . As things stand, the proposal is to
make provision for an aggravated offence when corruption in sport is committed in connection with
sports betting. The sentence envisaged for any attempt to alter the course of a competition is five years
in prison and a fine of 75,000 for both the corruptor (the person offering or promising ) and the
corruptee (the person who accepts or solicits ), and relates to events taking place in France. More
severe penalties are proposed in the event of this corruption being linked to sports betting.
The question of the usefulness of creating this type of offence arises when it is possible to invoke other
existing offences in national legislation such as private corruption (OM/VA affair) or the offence of
swindling (Hungary). For example, in the Bochum investigation, some countries availed themselves of
tools already existing in their national legislation. Thus the absence of the offence of fraud in sport
does not suggest a total impossibility of prosecution, although its existence can be a deterrent (for
corruptors), and above all provide a stimulus (for public justice and police authorities).
At a national level, it is a question of establishing a sort-of police force for sport , not with the aim of
carrying out surveillance on the sports movement, but rather with a view to facilitating the activation
of police and legal mechanisms. Besides its deterrent virtues, this offence of fraud in sport “would
facilitate the use of specific investigation methods” 114 . The risk is currently underestimated, the public
prosecutors of various countries agree in saying that the problem is major but not sufficiently
recognised. Systematising the punishment for manipulating matches would therefore help to extend
awareness.
Some stakeholders within the sports movement are appealing for this type of standardisation at
European level. This is the case with UEFA, for example. Recently, it was delighted at the European
Parliament s decision to support, inter alia, the fact that fraud connected with sports betting will be
classified as a criminal offence throughout Europe 115 . A study is currently being undertaken for the
European Commission on the legal and criminal treatment of fraud in sport in the 27 Member States of
the Union 116 .
Combating attacks on the integrity of sport orchestrated by criminal gangs or organisations with the
aim of enriching themselves via the sports betting market requires the implementation of common
prevention measures within the domain of sport, and specific action within the sports betting market
itself.
112
http://ovipot.hypotheses.org/6810
113
http://lesrapports.ladocumentationfrancaise.fr/BRP/114000165/0000.pdf
114
http://www.senat.fr/leg/tas10-122.pdf
115
http://fr.uefa.com/uefa/mediaservices/mediareleases/newsid=1716319.html
116
Scheduled for publication in 2012, edited by KEA.
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