Sports betting and corruption: How to preserve the - SportAccord

Sports betting and corruption: How to preserve the integrity of sport
1. Regulating the offering: managing and monitoring bets
A concerted operation with the sports movement
It is absolutely vital that those responsible for sport are informed and aware of the elements and
aspects of sport that are the subject of betting relating to their competitions and teams. The
multiplication of people involved in the operator markets, the multiplication of sporting events
covered and the diversity of bets offered are elements that the sports movement must grasp to identify
the risks that might encourage corruption, according to disciplines and competitions.
French, Italian and Australian (State of Victoria) regulations entail generating a list of authorised bets.
This desire arises partly from a wish to limit betting that is undeniably not motivated by the love of
the game but proceeds more from a quest for enrichment. In France this list is organised by sport and
according to two focus areas, on the one hand, competition categories, and on the other, types of
results and corresponding phases of games/matches . Bets such as the first yellow card or the sending
off of such-and-such a player in football are therefore now prohibited in France. The regulations are
also intended to prevent betting on matches between teams in lower level championships or amateur
competitions, or in countries where there are suspicions of systemic corruption in championships 117 .
Until May 2011 betting on friendly international football matches was prohibited in France. The
events of 2011 underline the risks of this type of match. The cases of Antalya 118 and the Argentine-
Nigeria 119 match in February, then that of a friendly tournament in the United Arab Emirates in
May 120 , which were all the subject of FIFA inquiries, illustrate the risks inherent in this type of match.
Weaker control by a federation due to limited sporting significance can also open the way to
manipulation. As it is very difficult to envisage prohibiting betting on friendly matches, it is important
that particular attention be paid to this issue by sporting organisations. This will involve systematic
verification of the identity of the organisers of these events.
We also ascertained in the first part of this study that some types of bet are, in essence, more risky than
others. They can encourage the committing of specific frauds judged harmless by the targets of the
corruption because they do not alter the essentials, i.e. the final results of a competition. In the case of
the cricketers sentenced in November 2011, the manipulation related to the deliberate bowling of three
no-balls 121 .
Given the diversity of regulatory frameworks and the permanence of the principle of subsidiarity, it
falls to the regulator, in close agreement with the sports movement (whose technical expertise is
essential), to identify risky types of bet and then to operate surveillance on the compliance of betting
operators with the law in force in their territory.
117
An example of a list that of ARJEL dated 26 May 2011: http://www.jeu-legalfrance.fr/20110526_SportsAutorisesARJEL.pdf
118
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/feb/14/fifa-investigation-heavy-betting-friendlies
119
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/04/fifa-argentina-match-fix_n_871345.html
120
http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest+News/Sports/Story/A1Story20110505-277235.html
121
http://www.lepoint.fr/sport/deux-joueurs-pakistanais-de-cricket-reconnus-coupables-de-corruption-01-11-2011-
1391403_26.php
68