Weekly integrity in sport update from INTERPOL 14-20 December 2015

In the current Weekly Media Recap, we can read that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has published the Olympic Movement Code on the Prevention of the Manipulation of Competitions. The Code aims to provide the Olympic Movement and its members with harmonized regulations to protect all competitions from the risk of manipulation.

In the United Kingdom, the Football Association (FA) has welcomed a new website created to tackle betting-related corruption in sport. The website was established by the Sports Betting Integrity Forum, which is a UK Government backed forum that brings together representatives from sports governing bodies, including the Football Association, betting operators, sport and betting trade associations, law enforcement and gambling regulation.

CURRENT INVESTIGATION

Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan authorities are investigating a bid to persuade members of the national cricket team to underperform in a recent Test to ensure a surprise victory for the West Indies, the government said yesterday. Sri Lankan Minister of Sports Dayasiri Jayasekera said a man linked to a bookmaker had approached wicketkeeper Kusal Perera and star bowler Rangana Herath to engineer a Sri Lanka batting collapse at a Test in Galle in October, which the hosts went on to win emphatically. “After Kusal turned down the offer, the man approached Herath, who also rejected the offer and alerted the authorities,” Jayasekera told reporters. “We have started a police inquiry in addition to an anticorruption probe by Sri Lanka Cricket,” he added in reference to the national cricket board. Sri Lanka beat the tourists by an innings and six runs after left-arm spinner Herath took 10 wickets in the match. Jayasekera also suggested that Perera’s recent failure in a doping test might have been because he raised the alarm over the match-fixing attempt. “It is possible that something was slipped into his food or his urine sample was tampered with to get this result,” Jayasekera said. “We are doing our best to defend him.” Sri Lanka Cricket chief executive Ashley de Silva said the board could not discuss the case in line with International Cricket Council anticorruption regulations. “Because of the anticorruption regulations, we cannot say anything,” De Silva told reporters. However a source in the board confirmed that the organization was conducting its own investigation into the claims. “The two players brought this to our notice,” said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Source: AP, "Sri Lanka investigating match-fixing allegations", 19 December 2015, Taipei Times, https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/sport/archives/2015/12/19/2003635142

GOOD PRACTICE

Australia

Local sports leagues in Victoria are at risk of match-fixing and corruption because of the rise of unregulated overseas online bookmakers, the Victorian government has warned. In a submission to a federal review of the impact of illegal offshore bookmakers, the state government says "there is a lack of awareness of integrity risks amongst sub-elite and community-based sport in Victoria". The submission said this ignorance was a "particular concern" given the number of betting markets offered by foreign bookies on Victorian sport. During the past decade the amount wagered and lost in Victoria on sports betting has exploded. In 2004-05 punters lost just $24 million from a turnover of $180 million. In 2013-14 this jumped to losses of $213 million from a turnover of $1.3 billion. State regulations require bookmakers to strike agreements with sports controlling bodies to offer markets on their events. But there are only 10 sports controlling bodies registered in Victoria, and all are major organisations such as the AFL, NRL and Netball. Some organisations, such as Football Federation Australia, have oversight over betting on Victorian leagues. The Andrews government is pushing for the review, chaired by former NSW premier Barry O'Farrell, to consider how state and federal governments can develop integrity standards that can be applied to local sports. In 2012 Fairfax Media revealed that foreign and local internet bookmakers were offering odds on suburban and country football and soccer matches, with some clubs and leagues admitting they had no betting policies. And in 2013 a match-fixing ring in the Victorian Premier League was uncovered, with overseas syndicates betting and fixing games in Australia. "We are asking the federal government to develop national standards so we can protect the integrity of local sporting clubs," Minister for Gaming and Liquor Regulation Jane Garrett said.

Source: Richard Willingham, "Local sports face integrity issues as online gambling grows", 14 December 2015, The Victoria Age, https://www.theage.com.au/victoria/officials-worry-about-integrity-of-local-sports-as-overseas-gambling-grows-20151214-gln9ea.html

Monday, 21 December 2015