Sports betting and corruption: How to preserve the - SportAccord

Sports betting and corruption: How to preserve the integrity of sport
RECOMMENDATIONS
This white paper has endeavoured to demonstrate the major risk to the integrity of sport constituted by
the manipulation of matches for the purposes of enrichment in the sports betting market. The paths
opened up by information technologies and the globalisation of the betting offering have confronted
sports organisations with a new phenomenon in the past 10 years. Corruption in sport is being
combated by the adoption of measures to raise awareness among, and deter, participants in sport. The
public authorities also have an important role to play, on the one hand to deter protagonists from
participating in these fraudulent practices, and on the other by deciding to regulate the globalised
sports betting market. Given the transnational concepts involved, international coordination interfaces
are essential for policing and justice. The same is true of the surveillance of the illegal market,
because even if the approaches to, and scope of, the regulation of sports betting vary from country to
country, all states are affected by the risks weighing on sport and its integrity, as well as on public
order and security.
FOR THE SPORTS MOVEMENT
Regulation
� Adoption of standards prohibiting stakeholders from indulging in sports betting and
communicating sensitive information to third parties, accompanied by severe disciplinary
sanctions. Heavy proportioned in the event of involvement in match-rigging (or attempted
match-rigging) relating either to the final result or an aspect of the game.
� Obligation to report any attempted approach, and obligation to declare any suspicions about
third parties ( whistle-blowing ) with guarantees of confidentiality and protective measures if
necessary.
Raising awareness
� Implementation of an information programme aimed at managers of sporting organisations,
focused on knowledge of the global sports betting market and the risks connected therewith.
� Implementation of a programme to educate people at grassroots level, focused on the methods
of approach used by corruptors and the risk to a person s career if they participate in a
fraudulent undertaking.
Knowledge, watching, surveillance
� Knowledge of the dynamism of the market and the commercial exploitation of championships
and competitions by betting operators. Sports organisations must be in a position to
understand the exposure of their discipline to sports betting. The sports movement cooperates
closely with the regulatory authorities for this purpose. The latter are in charge of collecting
information from operators.
� Drawing up lists of authorised bets by sport and classifying them according to a scale of risk.
Ditto for competitions and periods at risk.
� Surveillance during sports competitions (the way matches develop, entourages of those
involved at grassroots level etc.), and in particular competitions where the outcome is not as
significant (end-of-season matches, end-of-group matches etc.).
� Introduction of testing operations to strengthen surveillance and deterrence among those
involved in the world of sport (referees, players, managers etc.).
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