The report, entitled ‘Protecting the Integrity of Sports Competition – The Last Bet for Modern Sport’, presents the findings of a two-year research project.
The study discovered all sports around the world are vulnerable to match-fixing, which is driven by illegal betting.
Although football and cricket were highlighted as the most vulnerable sports, the report also picked out tennis, badminton, motor-racing and basketball as other sports that could be subjected to match-fixing.
The report concluded that nations and governments, rather than the sports themselves, must be responsible for disrupting organised crime networks that operate illegal sports betting.
The joint report concluded that it was impossible to determine the number of illegal betting operators, but stated that about 53% of illegal betting is driven by operations in Asia.
The study also found that legal sports betting generates €4 billion in taxes for governments with up to 8,000 operators opting to be based in regions with special tax arrangements or lower rates.
The ICSS noted that the only way to stamp out manipulation of sport by gambling interests is through an international agreement and additionally called for sport bodies to join together their disciplinary procedures and for sports sanctions to be completed by criminal proceedings.
The report also recommended the establishment of an integrity risk assessment and management system for sports organisations, the creation of a sports betting tax be created in order to finance investigations into illegal betting and match-fixing, and that players, coaches and administrators be prohibited from betting on competitions and games within their respective sports.
source : www.igamingbusiness.com
