INTERPOL Integrity in Sport Bi-Weekly Bulletin - 18 April 2016 - 1 May 2016

This is the fourth Bi-Weekly Bulletin of INTERPOL’s Crimes in Sport Team, which replaces the previous Weekly Media Recap.

In this bulletin, the floor is given to the Commissioner General of the Belgian Federal Police and INTERPOL Executive Committee Delegate for Europe who discusses the global match-fixing issue and the ways to combat this phenomenon.

For the last two weeks of April, there have been several betting cases around the world, including the continued investigations of five cricket players in South Africa and match-fixing in Zimbabwe. Interestingly, the Australian Federal Government decided to ban “click-to-call” apps which allow users to place bets within seconds.

Regarding doping, WADA released a report of the top 2014 doping offenders: Russia, Italy, and India topped the list.
The so-called meldonium is also under the spotlights: the question regarding doping features of meldonium, which belongs to the WADA prohibited list, is still pending in the anti-doping world.

In terms of good practices, Wimbledon is enhancing their anti-doping and anti-corruption measures for its 130th tournament.

THE FLOOR TO...

Catherine De Bolle, Commissioner General of the Belgian Federal Police and INTERPOL Executive Committee Delegate for Europe

When we speak about sport, we think that all sports should be exciting, fun and honest. Match-fixing destroys this. It ruins the enjoyment of millions of people who visit stadiums or watch sport on TV, and it can ruin careers and undermine the integrity of sport. Match-fixing, betting or non-betting related, is a huge problem for sport worldwide. In the recent past, Belgium has been confronted with match-fixing cases in tennis and football.

In 2005 Belgian Football supporters were shocked when they heard that a Chinese businessman had fixed many matches in Belgium by bribing players, coaches and team managers.

In 2009, the Belgian authorities decided to create a football fraud hot line within the Federal Police, more precisely within the Central Service for Combating Corruption. A national coordinator in the federal prosecutor’s office was appointed. Those were the first steps in tackling match-fixing in sport in Belgium. Since then, a network of national and international partners, law enforcement bodies and others, has been established. Recently this network proved again its effectiveness. In only a few hours, basic information was checked and exchanged with partners such as UEFA, the Belgian Football Association and Sport Radar. One day later the federal prosecutor’s office opened a file. Also the police liaison officers working in the gaming commission were solicited to send requests to the betting operators. International and national sports federations are aware of the threat of match-fixing. They update and adapt their internal regulations, focus on prevention and education. INTERPOL developed, among other things, an educational program and started an international platform by the means of an annual expert meeting on match-fixing. I would like to mention the last Belgian example of last March and refer to the new Convention to combat manipulation of sports competitions of the Council of Europe. Article 13 of this convention provides that the Member States create a national platform on match-fixing wherein the national partners can exchange modus operandi, new developments and intelligence.

I am pleased that the Federal Judicial Police, awaiting the signature of the Belgian authorities and anticipating on the opportunities given by the International Olympic Committee and Interpol, gave the possibility, on the last April 22th, to all Belgian partners to sit down around the same table and start to work together in drafting a common strategy against match manipulation. As the problem has clearly become global, the various political, sporting, economic and government stakeholders have to work together to successfully combat this ever-growing phenomenon. This is also our goal.

BETTING

Australia

The Federal Government has announced it will close a loophole that has enabled online live sports betting. In-play betting is only allowed over the phone, but some betting companies have phone applications that allow punters to easily place bets during play. The so-called 'click-to-call' function sees an automated call made within the app and allows bets to be placed within seconds. The Government said it would legislate to ban 'click-to-call' apps, but Human Services Minister Alan Tudge expects companies to cease the practice immediately. "I would hope that they would cease doing this today, because we have clearly indicated that we believe that they're operating against, certainly, the intent of the law, if not the actual law," he said. "The online environment has the potential for people to get themselves into serious trouble," he said. Anti-gambling independent senator Nick Xenophon said the in-play betting changes were not enough. "What is concerning is the Government won't commit to a permanent ban on in-play betting, given the link between in-play betting and gambling addiction," he said. "The concern is this is a short-term solution to get the Government through the election." The Australian Wagering Council, which represents online sport betting companies, said "offshore operators will be delighted" online in-play betting remained illegal in Australia. "Regrettably, the Government has decided to maintain the archaic prohibition ... despite overwhelming international evidence that access to live betting online is of the key factors in why Australians choose to wager with unlicensed offshore operators," council chief executive Ian Fletcher said. "The combined effect of attempting to ban click-to-call technology and maintaining a prohibition on online in-play betting will ensure wagering by Australians with illegal offshore operators will increase," he said. "Land-based operators, pubs and clubs, too may see this as a protectionist lifeline." Illegal offshore wagering also targeted. The Government said it would also work with banks and credit card providers to identify ways to block payments to illegal offshore wagering. "The tougher laws will seriously disrupt the illegal offshore providers from acting unscrupulously or targeting vulnerable Australians," Mr Tudge said. "Clearly if bets are being made on illegal offshore gambling sites people do not have the same legal protections or consumer protections." "There are also issues in relation to sports integrity." The report estimated illegal offshore gambling accounted for between five and 25 per cent of the online betting market — up to $400 million annually. The Government has accepted 14 of 19 recommendations in full and four in-principle, including developing a national self-exclusion register and forcing operators to allow punters to set voluntary betting limits. The Government's announcement comes in response to a review of Australia's online wagering sector written by former New South Wales premier Barry O'Farrell.

Source: Dan Conifer, "Live online sports betting loophole to be closed by Federal Government", 26 April 2016, ABC, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-28/government-closes-online-live-sports-betting-loophole/7367406

Tuesday, 03 May 2016