By Andrew Warshaw
September 18 – Sports ministers from across Europe will convene in Switzerland today to sign a landmark agreement in an attempt to reduce match-fixing.
For months, corruption watchdogs have warned that the scourge cannot be properly tackled unless governments get involved and now ministers from around 50 countries will sign a new convention committing them to raise their efforts in the fight against manipulation.
Under the plan, an alert system triggered by suspicious betting will be set up, and international co-operation improved. Protection for whistleblowers will also be strengthened.
The treaty is the creation of the Council of Europe in response to a surge in the number of reports of illegal activities across the globe. The subject gained particular prominence at last week’s Soccerex conference in Manchester where several leading experts painted a grim picture.
The purpose of the new pact is to “prevent, detect, punish and discipline the manipulation of sports competitions, as well as enhance the exchange of information and national and international cooperation between the public authorities concerned, and with sports organisations and sports betting operators.”
The Convention calls on governments to adopt measures, including legislation, notably to:
• Prevent conflicts of interest in sports betting operators and sports organisations;
• Encourage the sports betting regulatory authorities to fight against fraud, if necessary by limiting the supply of sports bets or suspending the taking of bets ;
• Fight against illegal sports betting, allowing to close or restrict access to the operators concerned and block financial flows between them and consumers
“This new international agreement represents a major step forward in safeguarding the integrity of sport and sports ethics,” said the Council of Europe’s secretary general Thorbjørn Jagland.
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