Government launches crackdown on sports corruption caused by betting

[dave nz]

The government is close to finalising a high-level task force to discuss pressing issues around sport and gambling, in the wake of a string of allegations of cheating and corruption. The sports minister, Gerry Sutcliffe, plans to recruit senior figures from sports governing bodies, Bookmaker.com/?cmpid=4437" target="_blank">Bookmakers, the police, the law and the Gambling Commission to come up with new proposals to fight corruption.

This week, a Blue Square Premier match was the latest to come under the spotlight, when Bookmaker.com/?cmpid=4437" target="_blank">bookmakers suspended betting after recording a suspiciously high volume of bets on a single outcome. Earlier this month, the FA charged six players with breaking its gambling regulations following a game last season between Accrington Stanley and Bury. There have also been high-profile allegations of match-fixing in snooker and tennis in recent months.

The task force will be expected to discuss a range of issues, including whether there is more that can be done to improve communication and collaboration between sports, bookmakers, police and regulators. Improving the education of young players and changing the gambling culture within some sports is also likely to be on the agenda. The experts will be expected to agree on an action plan that can be presented to the government, which will decide how to proceed.

"Betting corruption is one of the major issues threatening sport today, and I want to make sure we're doing all we can to stamp it out," Sutcliffe said. "We need to be sure that all parties – from sports governing bodies to players themselves – have tough rules in place and understand what is and isn't acceptable.

"The panel of experts I am going to assemble will challenge one another on how betting integrity is being upheld and assess the current system to ensure it is as robust as possible. I want to ensure that no stone is left unturned in the fight against corruption in sport."

Bookmakers argue the spate of incidents demonstrate their commitment to flagging up suspicious betting patterns and tackling corruption. The 2005 Gambling Act introduced a new offence of cheating at gambling. But some MPs have questioned whether the regulator, the Gambling Commission, has the resources to police effectively complex cases of corruption that often have an international dimension.

Nic Coward, the former FA executive who is now chief executive of the British Horseracing Authority, is believed to be one of those who could join the panel. On behalf of the Sports Rights Owners Coalition, which represents more than 40 sporting bodies, he has led calls for radical reform of the relationship between bookmakers and the sports they offer odds on.

The new body will discuss the wider implications of the need to invest more in policing corruption in sport on a national and international level. Some senior figures in the sports world believe the fight against match-fixing is a bigger challenge than the fight against doping, and needs to be taken as seriously.

Privately, sporting bodies concede they have no way of knowing how big the problem is. They have been lobbying government and European legislators to introduce a system whereby bookmakers would have to pay governing bodies for the right to offer bets on the sport.

They believe this would give them more control over the range of bets that could be offered and provide additional funds to investigate allegations of impropriety. Last October, the chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board, David Collier, wrote to Sutcliffe on behalf of cricket, football, rugby league, rugby union and tennis to ask him to consider issues around sporting integrity as a matter of urgency.

[Seanie Mac]

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