ADVERTISEMENTOne of the key tools to beating the criminal gangs behind match-fixing is effective monitoring of the betting markets.
Bookmakers and sports governing bodies have systems in place to scrutinise odds during the course of a game to prevent any illegal betting activity. For example, FIFA has its Early Warning System.
Khalid Ali, the General-Secretary of the European Sports Security Association (ESSA), which represents the betting industry, told ‘On The Frontline’ that much of the current problem with match-fixing lies with the unregulated gambling markets, many of which are based in Asia.
‘‘Where we have seen betting related match-fixing it has been in those markets where there is no regulation. And if you don’t have any regulation, if you don’t have any licensed conditions for operators to be operating in those markets, then what you have is an untransparent market. It’s opaque, it creates a black market and it allows criminals to come in and fix matches.’‘