Sports betting and corruption: How to preserve the - SportAccord

Sports betting and corruption: How to preserve the integrity of sport
this risk manifest itself and how can it be detected as far upstream as possible? What are the
characteristics of the current organisation of the world of sport that make it intrinsically vulnerable to
criminals whose aim is to make a profit from opportunities created by online sports betting? What is
the current situation with programmes to prevent, detect and combat rigged bets and matches? What
are the main recommendations we can make to optimise the defense of the integrity of sport?
The first part of the white paper is devoted to understanding the risk of corruption linked to sports
betting. As highlighted in the report by Jean-Francois Vilotte, President of ARJEL, published in
March 2011, research into the risks of corruption in sport is insufficient in comparison with the
proliferation of scandals linked to sports betting: “The first observation relates to the lack of tools for
understanding and assessing these risks whilst at the same time, the media are increasingly frequently
exposing instances of manipulation of sports fixtures that appear to be linked with betting activities
and arouse serious misgivings as to the integrity and honesty of competitions” 4 .
This first section presents three major instances of corruption in sport, then produces a global typology
of the phenomenon of corruption in sport to help understand the modus operandi of corruptors and the
vulnerabilities inherent in sport. A number of cases of corruption that have come to light in recent
years are investigated and used to fill out the typology. The main instances primarily concern football,
but also tennis, cricket and even basketball. This study will therefore focus on these sports. Besides
analysing the phenomenon of corruption in sport, the first section also investigates the globalisation of
the sports betting market and seeks to ascertain the measure to which this may generate specific risks
in respect of the integrity of sport.
The second section of the white paper uses this typology of corruption in sport and the role of sports
betting in the proliferation of fraud to carry out a critical analysis of the procedures used to combat
fraud by the three key players in the sector: the sports movement, betting operators and the public
authorities. These three protagonists all have their own reasons for protecting the integrity of
competitions. As we have already seen, the manipulation of results is damaging sports events and
undermining the values of modern sport. Also, sport is proving to be particularly helpless in the face
of the transnational resources available to contemporary criminal organisations. The public authorities
are concerned by the risk of sport being penetrated by those criminal organisations that use it to
launder the fruits of their activities with virtual impunity. Concern for public order is now combined
with the need to preserve the image and place of sport in society as a force for social cohesion and
education for different generations. From the point of view of the betting operators, which are
sometimes swindled by corruptors placing fraudulent bets on their sites, the fight against fraud in sport
is a necessity to safeguard their economic business and not become an accomplice in criminal
activities. Like sport, corrupt betting is a threat to turn market because bettors are likely to be deterred
if they cannot trust the object of their bet as a fair contest.
This white paper will describe the situation with the various programmes and resources already in
place to combat corruption in sport at grassroots level and limit the appeal of sports betting for
criminals. A list of recommendations is put forward to help establish a multilateral system that will
optimise cooperation between these three categories of stakeholders. The system must cover the
4 Jean-Francois Vilotte, "Preserver l Integrite et la Sincerite des Competitions Sportives Face au Developpement des Paris
Sportifs en Ligne". Report to Mme. Chantal Jouanno, French Minister of Sport, delivered on 17 March 2011.
7