Betting in sports and integrity at the London Olympics: an insight from the UK Gambling Commission – Part 1

An exclusive interview by Kevin Carpenter, Executive Contributor for LawinSport

In the build-up to the London 2012 Olympic Games the International Olympic Committee (‘IOC’), representatives of the UK Government and others have stated that sports betting integrity and match-fixing has overtaken doping as the principal threat to the Games. 

The Gambling Commission (‘GC’), established under the Gambling Act 2005, regulates the majority of commercial gambling in Great Britain and has been closely involved with sports betting integrity policies generally and more specifically in relation to the Games. In its recently published Annual Report and Accounts for 2011/12.¹

 it had this to say, “With the 2012 London Olympics approaching our priority has been to ensure that sports authorities, law enforcement agencies and the legal betting industry here and abroad are working together to counter any threat to sports betting integrity during the Games." 

To find out more last month I interviewed Julia Mackisack, Director of Corporate Affairs at the
GC, who is responsible for managing the communications of the GC (both internally and externally) and works closely with the Chairman and Chief Executive in managing relationships with stakeholders. I began by asking her about what the Government's intentions were for the GC back in 2005.