Weekly integrity in sport update from INTERPOL 7-13 December 2015
In the current Weekly Media Recap, we see 11 players expelled by the Football Club Zarya Luhansk for match-fixing in the Ukraine and details of an internal investigation have been submitted to the local Football Federation.
Meanwhile the Professional Players Federation (PPF) published the 2015 review with the aim of educating the UK elite athletes against match fixing.
GOOD PRACTICE
United Kingdom
The 2015 review of sports betting integrity education for elite athletes by member player associations has been published by the Professional Players Federation (PPF). The Minister for Sport, Tracey Crouch MP, attended the reception at which it was launched which was itself hosted by Nigel Adams MP. A key part of the review was the discussion of the ongoing need for education against match fixing within the UK to protect the integrity of sports. The PPF, which has a long standing partnership with Ladbrokes, bet365, Betfair and Betway, is helping to deliver this education directly to thousands of players across members’ clubs. One achievement noted in the report is that 3,423 senior players have already received face-t0-face education on sports betting integrity. The Chairman of the PPF, Brendon Batson OBE, said of the review: “The scope of the PPF’s education work continues to grow and develop. Each year we are reaching new sports and new players.” “The funding and expertise from our partnership with bet365, Betfair, Betway and Ladbrokes makes all the difference. This partnership means our athletes are receiving some of the best sports betting integrity education in the world,” he continued.
Source: Sam Cooke, "PPF Review 2015 – Education to combat Match Fixing", 9 December 2015, SBCNEWS, https://www.sbcnews.co.uk/sportsbook/2015/12/09/ppf-review-2015-education-to-combat-match-fixing/
LEGISLATION
Australia
Illegal offshore wagering websites should be blocked and those who run them- named on a prohibited provider list, Racing Victoria says. There are growing calls for a national sports integrity commission to probe serious threats to sport. Victoria’s racing integrity commissioner, Sal Perna, is leading the calls from racing and sports bodies to establish one federal authority charged with examining and investigating sports corruption. “We know there is a threat, we know there are criminals interested in corrupting sports overseas and there is no authority here whose single focus is stopping that,” Mr Perna said. As well as a national commission, Racing Victoria wants tougher penalties and better enforcement of federal laws that make it illegal for overseas betting exchanges to aim at Australians. In a submission to a federal review of online gambling laws, Racing Victoria says ending the ban on live betting alone will not stop billions being wagered with dodgy -operators overseas. Racing Victoria proposes reforms including issuing infringement notices to offshore operators, placing their names on a register of prohibited providers, and flagging them on the Customs Movement Alert List so they can be charged if they enter the country. It also suggests internet providers block access to their websites.
Source: Carly Crawford, "Racing Victoria urges reform on illegal offshore betting websites", 9 December 2015, Herald Sun, https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/racing-victoria-urges-reform-on-illegal-offshore-betting-websites/news-story/b23971fd544775b790b89fa9ec23197e?nk=c0979b55c609dad43ab5b90f72137a88-1450087633
