tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/match-fixing-4781/articlesMatch fixing – The Conversation2023-09-12T14:48:13Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2123102023-09-12T14:48:13Z2023-09-12T14:48:13ZThe psychology of spot fixing – why athletes might gamble their careers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545976/original/file-20230901-27-djm9i1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C66%2C7454%2C4899&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-cropped-shot-male-hands-making-1228238821">Wpadington/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Fifa is reportedly investigating allegations of an <a href="https://www.ekathimerini.com/sports/1219276/fifa-probing-match-fixing-allegations-in-greece/">illegal betting ring in Greece</a>. Meanwhile the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/bolivian-tournaments-cancelled-over-alleged-match-fixing-2023-09-05/">Bolivian Football Federation</a> has cancelled two top-flight tournaments over reports of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21520704.2022.2121795">spot fixing</a>. </p>
<p>These country-level investigations follow numerous examples of professional footballers being personally investigated for breaking betting rules. In 2022, <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/sportsnews/article-11327941/FA-hand-career-ending-TEN-YEAR-BAN-former-Reading-defender-Kynan-Isaac.html">Reading defender Kynan Isaac</a> was handed a 12-year ban for placing illegal bets.</p>
<p>From the outside it might seem strange that well-paid athletes who seemingly have everything might risk it all in this way. Those who are eventually found guilty can be fined, suspended from playing the sport or even banned for life. </p>
<p>As yet not much is known about the benefits athletes get out of spot fixing, beyond <a href="https://www.skysports.com/cricket/news/12343/11928714/pakistan-cricketer-nasir-jamshaid-jailed-for-spot-fixing-conspiracy#:%7E:text=Pakistan%20international%20cricketer%20Nasir%20Jamshaid,dramatic%20as%20his%20stellar%20rise%22.">payments from fixers</a>, and researchers aren’t even sure if athletes always get payments direct from bookmakers. But it may not all be simply about money. </p>
<p>My previous research into why male professional athletes commit crime may help us understand why they would gamble their careers – the intense conditions of a professional athlete’s world can prime them for criminality. </p>
<h2>Why do athletes do it?</h2>
<p>Sport corruption cases have been on the <a href="https://www.interpol.int/Crimes/Corruption/Corruption-in-sport">on the increase</a> around the world in recent years.</p>
<p><a href="https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/36752/">My study</a> in sport and crime involved interviewing elite male athletes who have committed crimes, ranging from driving offences or drug possession, to importing drugs or grievous bodily harm. </p>
<p>I found the very characteristics that may have made them a good athlete may have also set them on the path to criminality. There are parallels between the <a href="https://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/sites/crimeandjustice.org.uk/files/09627259608552722.pdf">core features of athletic excellence</a> such as competitiveness, aggression, appetite for risk and assertion, and some of the traits that underpin criminal activities.</p>
<p>In some circumstances, an athlete <a href="https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1751-9020.2010.00305.x">may view crime</a> as an intense and thrilling activity that fulfils their need for excitement and fuels their appetite for risk. </p>
<p>Some athletes viewed crime as a means to alleviate boredom, with players struggling to fill the void that was left when not competing or training. <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-03-05-bk-86-story.html">The thrill of the crime</a> wasn’t necessarily an initial motivator but it was clearly a reason for repeated offences. As one athlete told me: “Some of those feelings, like feelings of elation and at times camaraderie as well, that I experienced on a football pitch, in a changing room… I got that from crime as well.”</p>
<p>Another athlete said: “There is a buzz of it … Anyone who tells you anything else is lying, it’s a buzz”.</p>
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<img alt="Close up of hands gripping prison bars." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545978/original/file-20230901-17-3tk4n4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545978/original/file-20230901-17-3tk4n4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545978/original/file-20230901-17-3tk4n4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545978/original/file-20230901-17-3tk4n4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545978/original/file-20230901-17-3tk4n4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545978/original/file-20230901-17-3tk4n4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545978/original/file-20230901-17-3tk4n4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">One athlete said he didn’t need to worry about jail because he wouldn’t get caught.</span>
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<p>Athletes in my study highlighted their susceptibility to temptation, their sense of invincibility and belief the rules did not apply to them and, in hindsight, their self-centredness. In psychology, these characteristics are linked with a type of behaviour called “<a href="https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/bison-books/9780803216440/">terminal adolescence</a>”, where they appear to not grow up because they don’t have to. Some athletes are so indulged they develop unrealistic views of themselves and a sense of invincibility commonly seen in adolescents. </p>
<p>A disregard for consequences was also clear. One participant said: “Of course there are consequences, of course there are people that go to jail, I know them, but I’m not going to get caught so I don’t have to think about that”. </p>
<p>Athletes may take part in crime because <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17430437.2019.1707807">risky experiences</a> can give people a <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/229379">sense of control</a> in their largely constrained lives – it can help athletes escape from the restrictive nature of elite sport. </p>
<p>Negative sporting experiences influenced some atheletes’ criminal behaviour too. Rejection, failure and a belief that sporting bodies, coaches or fans are treating them unfairly can incite athletes to rebellion. For example, one professional boxer began a phase of going out with friends and taking drugs after he lost a match because he thought the outcome was unfair. </p>
<p>Substance misuse was also often a negative influence. The need for money to pay for drugs and increasing greed in general were given as reasons for these bouts of self-destructive behaviour. </p>
<h2>What can be done?</h2>
<p>Sport organisations need to ensure they know the backgrounds, and social pressures, that are inescapable for many athletes so they can protect them. Young athletes’ potential criminality is not always on the radar of coaches, but it needs to be. One of the athletes I interviewed did get pulled up by his coach who had realised what he was doing in his free time – and this was a changing point for him. </p>
<p>Participants in my study touched upon the pressure they felt to be successful and how they struggled with mental health. One athlete described how draining his sport could be, and how the intensity – combined with the pressure an athlete is constantly under to perform – was exhausting.</p>
<p>The destructive criminal behaviour may be self-inflicted but these athletes still need support. Failing to support an athlete who has committed a crime may well make things worse, as they struggle with the financial, social and emotional consequences of their actions. </p>
<p>The frequency of drug and alcohol misuse is also an influence on athletes committing crimes. Athletes were indifferent to the use of class B and C drugs, and the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/223551712_The_Statistical_Association_between_Drug_Misuse_and_Crime_A_Meta-analysis">negative impact these drugs could have on their careers</a>, or how these could result in a criminal record. Education should be extended to coaches about how to spot social drug use, as it was clear that athletes in this study were adept at hiding their substance misuse.</p>
<p>The experiences of athletes who have committed crimes can be used allow others to learn from their mistakes. Telling their stories will also enable those who have offended to give back to their sports, and give convicted athletes a focus for getting their careers in sport back on track.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212310/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lucy Sheppard-Marks does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The characteristics that make an athlete successful can also lead to their downfall.Lucy Sheppard-Marks, Lecturer Sport and Event Management, Bournemouth UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2093922023-09-08T02:44:02Z2023-09-08T02:44:02ZMachine learning can level the playing field against match fixing – helping regulators spot cheating<p>On the eve of the Rugby World Cup kicking off, there have already been whispers of <a href="https://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/rugby-world-cup/rugby-world-cup-touchlines-spying-stories-persist-as-ireland-hand-big-opportunity-to-joe-mccarthy/a833044452.html">teams spying</a> on each other. Inevitable gamesmanship, perhaps, but there’s no doubt cheating in sport is a problem authorities struggle to combat.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4493430">new machine learning model</a> could be a game changer when it comes to detecting questionable behaviour and unusual outcomes – especially the practice of <a href="https://sportnz.org.nz/resources/match-fixing-and-gambling-in-sport/">match fixing</a>. </p>
<p>Currently, the act of altering match outcomes for personal or team gain is largely picked up through abnormalities in sports betting markets. When bookmakers notice unusual odds or changes in the betting line, they alert regulators. </p>
<p>But this approach is limited and often fails to identify all match fixing, particularly in less popular sports or leagues. Here is where machine learning can help. </p>
<p>Essentially a subset of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning acts as a digital probe: mining sports data, revealing hidden patterns, and flagging unusual events. Machines can delve into team performance and unexpected fluctuations, exploring all facets of sports events.</p>
<h2>Using AI to spot unusual activity</h2>
<p>As part of our research, we introduced the concept of “anomalous match identification”, which involved identifying irregular outcomes in games, no matter what the underlying causes might be.</p>
<p>There could be various factors at play, from strategic losses for future advantage – such as the <a href="https://en.as.com/nba/what-is-tanking-in-the-nba-and-why-do-teams-tank-n/">practice of “tanking”</a> in the US National Basketball league (NBA) – to marketing tactics to boost ticket sales, or just a day of poor performance.</p>
<p>Our research model allows us to flag unusual game results and turn them over to regulators for deeper investigation. By leveraging machine learning, we can spot abnormal matches by comparing our predictions with the actual game results.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-police-should-use-machine-learning-but-very-carefully-121524">Why the police should use machine learning – but very carefully</a>
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<p>When we discuss anomalies in sports, we’re talking about matches that stand out from the norm.</p>
<p>While match fixing – deliberate manipulation of results for gain – is one possible explanation for unusual game results, it’s not the only one. Recognising the many reasons behind unusual match results can also help improve our understanding of the complexities of sports.</p>
<p>In the face of an unusual or unexpected result, spectators and officials may ask themselves: was this the result of an unforeseen strategy or are there other influences at play?</p>
<h2>Learning from basketball</h2>
<p>Our research methodology involved training machine learning algorithms to discover patterns between specific past events and subsequent game results.</p>
<p>Once these relationships are established, the algorithms can forecast likely future match outcomes. The discrepancies between these predictions and the actual results can flag potentially abnormal matches.</p>
<p>To test our model, we looked at whether there were any out-of-the-ordinary matches in the 2022 NBA playoffs. We built models using data from 2004 to 2020 to forecast match outcomes and then compared what the machine predicted with actual game results.</p>
<p>We found several anomalies in the 2022 playoffs, particularly in a series of games between the <a href="https://www.nba.com/game/dal-vs-phx-0042100227">Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks</a>. In their seven matches against each other in May 2022, Dallas won four games and Phoenix won three. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/who-will-win-the-2023-rugby-world-cup-this-algorithm-uses-10-000-simulations-to-rank-the-contenders-212598">Who will win the 2023 Rugby World Cup? This algorithm uses 10,000 simulations to rank the contenders</a>
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<p>According to the data, the anomalies in the 2022 playoffs included a 0.0000064 probability of the Suns and Mavericks actually playing against each other in the semi-final series of NBA’s Western Conference – which includes 15 teams. </p>
<p>We also identified several players with performances during the playoffs that were particularly abnormal based on the data from their previous games. </p>
<p>This is not to say there was any match fixing involved. Rather, our results flag games and players that could then be followed up by regulators <em>if</em> match fixing was a concern – which it was not, this was simply an example to test the model.</p>
<p>This approach to spotting anomalies within a series of matches can be applied across many sports.</p>
<p>Scrutinising a significant number of anomalies can offer valuable insights into unusual match events, helping regulatory bodies and sports organisations conduct thorough investigations and uphold fair competition.</p>
<h2>Encouraging trust in sports</h2>
<p>Though our study concentrates on specific sports, the principles and techniques can expand to other arenas.</p>
<p>The study shows that machine learning can be utilised to help safeguard the integrity of sports competitions, and to assist regulatory bodies, sports organisations and law enforcement agencies maintain fairness and public trust.</p>
<p>But as we embrace the potential of machine learning, we must also navigate the ethical implications and ensure its transparent use. </p>
<p>The future of sports may well see artificial intelligence become the fans’ ally, helping ensure a level playing field where talent excels, and spectators revel in the authenticity of sporting events.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209392/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A new machine learning model can pinpoint anomalies in sports results – whether from match fixing, strategic losses or poor player performance. It could be a useful tool in the fight against cheating.Dulani Jayasuriya, Lecturer in Accounting and Finance, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata RauJacky Liu, Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata RauRyan Elmore, Associate Professor of Business Information and Analytics, University of DenverLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1062492018-11-14T19:01:48Z2018-11-14T19:01:48ZMicro-betting: a dangerous form of gambling luring in vulnerable Australians<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244211/original/file-20181106-74754-1pfc37n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An alarmingly high proportion of problem gamblers are using off-shore betting firms for 'micro-betting' on sports.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Any sports fan is all too familiar with micro-bets, and the problems they cause. A micro-bet is when bookies offer odds that a particular ball in a cricket match will be a no-ball, for example, or a given serve in tennis will be a fault.</p>
<p>These bets on small events during live play have been linked to sporting corruption - those in the know make hefty profits in betting markets because a player agrees to bowl that no-ball or serve that fault at a <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-15573463">pre-determined point in play</a>. </p>
<p>Now, we have found evidence that more than a third of regular Australian sports gamblers are making micro-bets using offshore operators - and worse, this dangerous type of betting is very strongly linked to problem gambling.</p>
<p>Don’t be fooled into thinking micro-betting means small bets. The “micro” refers to a small event within play - but the sum wagered can be huge.</p>
<p>The findings come as legislators in various countries and regions, including the United States - where sports betting has been is illegal or restricted - are under pressure to make sports betting more accessible.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/with-sports-betting-on-the-rise-can-we-avoid-a-tsunami-of-gambling-harm-46192">With sports betting on the rise, can we avoid a tsunami of gambling harm?</a>
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<p>Micro-betting is technically legal for Australian licensed operators. But <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/04_2016/review_of_illegal_offshore_wagering_18_december_2015.pdf">sporting bodies have not approved it</a>, owing to the difficulty of policing the integrity of their sport given the notorious instances of corruption. </p>
<p>Despite calls for micro-betting to be outlawed completely, <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1461444817738783?journalCode=nmsa">we found</a> that Australians are using many offshore operators to engage in micro-betting - operators who are not supposed to offer services to Australian punters but do anyway. </p>
<p>In our <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10899-018-9810-y">most recent paper</a>, in a sample of 1,813 regular sports bettors, we found 667 (36.8%) had bet on micro events in the past 12 months.</p>
<p>Of those, an alarming 78% were <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/for-professionals/health-and-community-professionals/problem-gambling-severity-index-pgsi/">classified as problem gamblers</a>.</p>
<p>Only 5% of those making micro-bets were non-problem gamblers, with the rest at some risk of developing gambling-related problems. And when we looked at only those who bet on micro events, those classified as problem gamblers were also likely to place a higher proportion of their bets on micro events. It’s important to note we recruited many regular (rather than occasional) sports bettors, leading to a higher representation of problem gamblers in the sample (46.8%). Nevertheless, the relationship between problem gambling and betting on micro events is striking.</p>
<p>Because micro-betting markets open and close fast, usually over just minutes, this betting needs to be impulsive, and those classified as problem gamblers <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/srep39233">tend to be</a> <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29557545">impulsive</a>. Also, this is yet another way to bet, and people classified as problem gamblers tend to gamble in many ways - sports, races, pokies - at venues, by telephone, and online.</p>
<h2>A dangerous, impulsive form of betting</h2>
<p>In Australia, sports betting in general is <a href="http://www.qgso.qld.gov.au/products/reports/aus-gambling-stats/aus-gambling-stats-34th-edn-summary-tables.pdf">increasing</a> each year. We cannot watch a sporting event without being bombarded with gambling advertising, and this <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/effects-of-wagering-marketing-on-vulnerable-adults-408/">advertising works</a>. </p>
<p>Because sports betting is so common in Australia, many may be surprised to learn sports betting is not offered in some <a href="https://www.legalsportsreport.com/16822/ontario-sports-betting/">parts of the world</a>, including many states of the <a href="http://www.espn.com.au/chalk/story/_/id/19740480/gambling-sports-betting-bill-tracker-all-50-states">US</a>. However, legislators in many jurisdictions are legalising or decreasing restrictions on sports betting, and face questions about what should be allowed.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/advantage-gambling-but-corruption-risk-surely-isnt-worth-it-for-tennis-53378">Advantage gambling, but corruption risk surely isn't worth it for tennis</a>
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<p>Micro-betting is the most extreme example of in-play or live betting, itself an evolution from the time sports betting was simply on which player or team would win the match - with bets on match outcomes placed hours or even days before the result is known. </p>
<p>Micro-bets reduce the gap between placing a bet and the outcome to minutes or even seconds - essentially allowing bettors to bet continuously. This is concerning, because continuous forms of betting are <a href="https://psychology.org.au/getmedia/422d3add-d12a-4427-af57-bf259b056d8d/APS-gambling-paper.pdf">strongly associated</a> with <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14459795.2017.1360928">gambling-related problems</a> – think <a href="https://www.problemgambling.ca/gambling-help/gambling-information/about-slot-machines.aspx">pokies</a>.</p>
<p>When the Australian government originally <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2016C00607">legislated</a> Internet gambling, it allowed sports betting because it was <a href="https://www.communications.gov.au/sites/g/files/net301/f/Final_Report_-_Review_of_the_Interactive_Gambling_Act_2001.pdf">not a continuous forms of gambling</a>, and was therefore seen as relatively benign. However, live/in-play sports betting (including microbets) cannot be offered online by Australian-licensed operators. Instead, bettors must place a telephone call to the operator or bet in a venue.</p>
<p>In fact, betting on micro events is a particularly dangerous form of gambling because it is continuous, requires impulsive decisions (impairing the ability to reflect on recent gambling), and offers variety. All of these factors appeal to people at risk of problem gambling.</p>
<h2>Calls to ban micro-betting</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/communities-and-vulnerable-people/programmes-services/gambling/review-of-illegal-offshore-wagering">Two</a> <a href="https://www.communications.gov.au/sites/g/files/net301/f/Final_Report_-_Review_of_the_Interactive_Gambling_Act_2001.pdf">reviews</a> of the gambling legislation recommended that betting on micro events should be specifically outlawed, even if bets are placed via telephone (or in-venue), because of the high risk of gambling-related harm. When the Interactive Gambling Act was <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2017A00085">amended in 2017</a>, no such change was made, partly because it was difficult to legislate against betting on micro events without unintended restrictions on other forms of betting.</p>
<p>Betting on micro events has also been linked to spot fixing, where a player purposefully stages an event (for example, loses a particular point) so that others in-the-know can bet on it. This has been observed in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/oct/21/english-players-26-spot-fixing-international-matches-al-jazeera-cricket">many</a> <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/southampton/6130280/Matthew-Le-Tissier-admits-being-part-of-attempted-betting-scam-at-Southampton.html">sports</a>, and is a key reason that Australian sporting bodies don’t endorse betting on micro events. It is far easier to get a single player to lose a point, than it is for a player or team to <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/cbe0/e5de14506e9475fdc7a077ab7e574bed682e.pdf">lose an entire match</a>.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/sporting-codes-deals-with-gambling-companies-force-them-into-a-faustian-bargain-73968">Sporting codes' deals with gambling companies force them into a Faustian bargain</a>
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<p>So while micro-betting is not currently offered in Australia, Australian bettors can place micro-bets with overseas bookies, despite the federal government’s efforts to stop this. Given that betting on micro events is so clearly related to problem gambling, and corruption in sports, legislators worldwide should strongly consider whether this form of gambling should be offered as they shape the laws for their jurisdictions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106249/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alex Russell has received research funding from the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation; Queensland
Justice and Attorney-General; Gambling Research Australia; National Association for Gambling Studies;
Australian Communications and Media Authority and the Alberta Gambling Research Institute. He has previously received industry funding for consultation on a project evaluating gambling and problem gambling amongst casino employees from Echo/Star Entertainment, but no longer accepts industry funding. He is also affiliated with the University of Sydney.</span></em></p>New research has found that more than a third of Australian sports gamblers are making micro-bets using offshore operators. And this type of betting is strongly linked to problem gambling.Alex Russell, Senior Postdoctoral Fellow, CQUniversity AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/958722018-05-04T04:48:46Z2018-05-04T04:48:46ZIf tennis really wants to stamp out corruption, it will need systemic change<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/217699/original/file-20180504-153881-17g5m4d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A tennis integrity review has been released two years after match-fixing allegations roiled the sport.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Stung by a <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/heidiblake/the-tennis-racket?utm_term=.afP5qr8G6d#.lr1qlObBjW">highly critical report</a> on the eve of the 2016 Australian Open that alleged deep-rooted corruption in tennis and a massive cover-up at the highest level, the sport’s leaders made the bold move of appointing an independent panel to investigate the issue. But while the initial match-fixing report received considerable attention, the response by the integrity panel - <a href="http://tennisirp.com/">a thorough review that took two years and $20 million to complete</a> - has attracted far less media coverage.</p>
<p>This lack of attention might be a sign of things to come. The panel’s recommendations may not get much traction among tennis’ governing bodies, either. </p>
<p>Part of the issue is match-fixing in tennis is an entrenched problem without an easy fix. It was first flagged in 2005, when Richard Ings, then-head of the ATP’s Anti-Doping Authority and its executive vice president, <a href="http://www.tennisintegrityunit.com/storage/app/media/Independent%20Reviews/IRP-2018/Appendix%2011.pdf">produced a report</a> claiming the sport was at “a crossroads of credibility” and in tennis officialdom “there was a climate of silence and apathy towards corruption which made it difficult to address this growing problem”.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/game-set-and-match-fix-what-more-can-be-done-to-stop-corruption-in-tennis-71072">Game, set and match-fix: what more can be done to stop corruption in tennis?</a>
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<p>Apparently, his warnings went unheeded. In recent years, tournaments like the Australian Open have signed betting companies as sponsors. In 2015, the International Tennis Federation, one of the governing bodies of the sport, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/feb/10/sportsradar-data-deal-tennis-online-betting">signed a $70 million agreement</a> to sell live scoring data to a Swiss betting company called Sportradar. Tennis authorities have obviously understood the financial benefits associated with betting agencies, but perhaps underestimated the negative repercussions.</p>
<p>Tennis is now the fourth-largest sports betting market in the world, trailing only football, horse-racing and cricket. And the negative repercussions are being felt most clearly on the lowest rungs of the sport - the Challenger and Futures tournaments where lack of oversight and dismal prize money have created an environment conducive to match-fixing. </p>
<h2>What the panel recommends</h2>
<p>In its review, the integrity panel proposed numerous recommendations to address the corruption issues facing the sport. The recommendations are smart and forward-looking, but without the requisite political will among tennis authorities and an overhaul of the structure of the sport, they may fall on deaf ears. Among the main recommendations are:</p>
<ul>
<li>Removing the opportunities and incentives for match-fixing</li>
</ul>
<p>One of the biggest recommendations in the report is a ban on the sale of live scoring data to betting operators, especially at the lower levels of the sport. </p>
<p>Before this data became available, betting operators couldn’t offer in-play markets unless they entered into a data sales agreement with an individual tournament or the matches were broadcast live. Live scoring data make it easier for betting operators to allow people to place wagers during matches, but it’s unlikely that cutting off this source of information would have a significant impact on gambling overall. </p>
<p>Many other forms of betting would remain unaffected (for example, over-unders, line betting, specific scores in games, aces in games and other special betting categories offered by agencies), while televised matches could easily generate data independently. </p>
<ul>
<li>Better educating players about match-fixing</li>
</ul>
<p>The panel proposes introducing enhanced, mandatory integrity training for all players and other key stakeholders, such as coaches and administrators. It also recommends limiting match-fixers’ access to players by improving the accreditation systems, facilities and security at tournaments. </p>
<p>These are good ideas, but they would be difficult and expensive to implement and enforce. Who would pay for the integrity education and how would you compel players to take part? And will players really be compelled to stop cheating by taking a class alone? </p>
<p>Players can be told the sport expects high ethical standards, but the sport’s commercial partnerships (that is, its alignment with <a href="https://www.brisbaneinternational.com.au/event-guide/sponsors/">alcohol, gambling and junk food</a> companies) tell another story. </p>
<ul>
<li>Encouraging more legal action and prosecutions</li>
</ul>
<p>The panel also proposes that national authorities make greater use of the criminal justice system to assist in the global fight against match-fixing, by enacting new laws and prosecuting offenders when possible. The governing bodies and national federations in tennis should certainly encourage this type of enforcement, but at the moment, this is a dream. The international nature of tennis and sports betting makes it extremely difficult to coordinate criminal cases across borders. </p>
<h2>A long way to go</h2>
<p>Tennis’ governing bodies should be congratulated for taking the step of ordering such a review, as they are clearly starting to see that match-fixing has the potential to irrevocably damage the sport. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-terrible-toll-tennis-can-take-on-top-players-who-play-too-much-90237">The terrible toll tennis can take on top players who play too much</a>
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<p>But even if all of the panel’s recommendations were adopted, corruption problems will likely persist because of the way betting agencies have completely infiltrated the sport. And these companies have considerable clout, both financial and political. </p>
<p>What is clear is that individual and idealistic attempts to stamp out match-fixing will struggle to succeed. It is simply too great an undertaking for any one sport, like tennis, to take on the now deeply invested gambling interests in sports. What is needed is cross-sport, cross-jurisdictional collaboration and coordinated reform to diminish the influence of gambling across all sports.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/95872/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steve Georgakis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>An independent review has recommended steps to clean up the sport. Tennis authorities must now demonstrate they have the will to take action.Steve Georgakis, Senior Lecturer of Pedagogy and Sports Studies, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/940962018-03-29T01:04:49Z2018-03-29T01:04:49ZCan the cricketers banned for ball tampering ever regain their hero status? It’s happened before<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/212535/original/file-20180328-189824-1cte335.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Steve Smith has borne the brunt of the public and media vitriol over Australian cricket's ball-tampering scandal.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Muzi Ntombela</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Overnight, Cricket Australia handed out its <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/ball-tampering-trio-face-significant-sanctions-lehmann-stays-as-cricket-coach">promised “significant sanctions”</a> for a ball-tampering incident that has engulfed the sport <a href="https://theconversation.com/just-not-cricket-why-ball-tampering-is-cheating-93935">in scandal</a>. Steve Smith and David Warner, the team’s captain and vice-captain, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-28/steve-smith-david-warner-banned-playing-australia/9598648">have been banned</a> for 12 months. Cameron Bancroft, who carried out the failed plot, received a nine-month ban. </p>
<p>It was <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/sandpaper-lies-and-videotape-warner-fingered-by-ca-as-architect-20180328-p4z6sk.html">also revealed</a> it was sandpaper, <a href="http://www.news.com.au/sport/cricket/legends-want-steve-smith-sacked-after-balltampering-scandal/news-story/766365369ad0b6b19d0895f826957c85">and not</a> “yellow tape and the granules from the rough patches of the wicket” as originally claimed, that Bancroft tried to use to alter the ball’s condition in the Test match between South Africa and Australia. </p>
<p>While the International Cricket Council (ICC) initially suspended Smith for only one Test, all three are now banned from international and domestic (professional) cricket in Australia. Smith and Warner have also had their lucrative Indian Premier League contracts <a href="https://twitter.com/plalor/status/978932106947543040">torn up</a>, and some sponsors <a href="http://www.sportingnews.com/au/cricket/news/steve-smith-ball-tampering-weet-bix-australia-south-africa-cricket-australia/cgtiemaofb9r17d4ov6jx54jg">have already distanced themselves</a> from the players and <a href="https://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20180329/pdf/43stmx3p8cd32p.pdf">the sport</a>. But these measures fall short of the <a href="https://wwos.nine.com.au/2018/03/26/10/34/ball-tampering-crisis-steve-smith-david-warner-life-ban">lifetime bans</a> some called for.</p>
<p>As captain, Smith has borne the brunt of the public and media vitriol, particularly as he accepted responsibility for what had happened. He may yet be Australian captain again in the future.</p>
<p>But according to Cricket Australia’s investigation, it was Warner who developed the plan and instructed Bancroft – a younger player – to carry it out. Warner also showed a “<a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/africaCricketNews/idAFL8N1RA23T">lack of contrition</a>” and will therefore not be considered for any leadership position in the future.</p>
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<h2>Does the punishment fit the crime?</h2>
<p>Ball tampering is clearly cheating; it breaks the rules and is against the “spirit of cricket”. But while it has been deemed the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-27/cricket-ball-tampering-steve-smith-icc-doping-in-sport/9587716">“moral equivalent of doping”</a>, there is a lack of consistency in how sanctions are dished out to offenders.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/just-not-cricket-why-ball-tampering-is-cheating-93935">Just not cricket: why ball tampering is cheating</a>
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<p>Bans for doping violations are often severe. Players such as Andre Russell have been <a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/18591521/andre-russell-banned-one-year-doping-code-violation">banned for 12 months</a> for failing to record their whereabouts for drug testing. But, historically, ICC bans for ball tampering have been more lenient: Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi <a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/ausvpak09/content/story/446437.html">received a two-game ban</a> for biting the ball in an attempt to alter its condition. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi’s bite-tampering incident.</span></figcaption>
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<p>However, a harder line has been taken for incidents of match-fixing. Three Pakistan players were banned and jailed for a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/nov/03/pakistan-spot-fixing-jail-terms">spot-fixing incident</a> in 2010. South Africa’s Herschelle Gibbs <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2000/aug/29/cricket3">received a six-month ban</a> in 2000 for agreeing to fix a match, even though he did not follow through with it.</p>
<p>Lifetime bans are not uncommon in sport generally. Ryan Tandy was <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/nrl/nrl-boss-david-gallop-to-ban-ryan-tandy-from-rugby-league-for-life/news-story/5594d6b4ae7b8e3912c963999450faf6?sv=920ec5e27a9c2d22573b03d36fa9cb57">banned for life</a> for attempted spot-fixing in a rugby league game. Lance Armstrong <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/lance-armstrong-stripped-tour-de-france-titles-banned/story?id=17535635">was banned</a> from sanctioned Olympic sports for life and had his results voided for his serial doping in cycling. Even figure skating is not immune: Tonya Harding was <a href="https://www.theodysseyonline.com/tonya-harding">similarly banned</a> for hindering the prosecution into a vicious attack on a fellow competitor.</p>
<p>It is difficult to compare sanctions across sports. But, when doing so, the inconsistencies are apparent. Boxer Mike Tyson was <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/articles/762315-boxing-ko-of-the-day-mike-tyson-banned-from-boxing">handed a 15-month ban</a> for biting off part of Evander Holyfield’s ear; footballer Luis Suarez <a href="http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/16186556">received an eight-game ban</a> for racially abusing an opponent; fellow footballer Paul Davis only <a href="http://www.gunnerstown.com/arsenal/2016/10/03/paul-davis-the-highbury-hero-with-the-perfect-left-hook/">served a nine-match ban</a> for punching and breaking an opponent’s jaw.</p>
<p>In light of these punishments, are nine- and 12-month bans for premeditated cheating and lying reasonable and just?</p>
<p>Cricket Australia has been criticised for the time it took to reach a decision. But it’s essential that due diligence is done and facts are gathered before a sentence is handed down. Without this, decisions are made through the pressure of public shaming, and social media get to cast the final vote on the punishment.</p>
<p>If sporting organisations want players to act morally on field, then they too should be guided by moral behaviour in governing the sport. </p>
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<h2>Forgive and forget?</h2>
<p>Society is often keen to forgive top athletes when they transgress. When athletes admit their mistakes and ask forgiveness it is usually granted. </p>
<p>Over time, sports fans also tend to forget athletes’ errors and focus solely on their on-field ability. In cricket, for instance, Don Bradman’s role in disputes over pay as a cricket administrator is <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/3000015/The-other-side-of-Don-Bradman.html">largely glossed over</a>. Shane Warne’s <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/02/22/1045638544833.html">year-long ban</a> for a doping violation is rarely mentioned.</p>
<p>Drugs cheats <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/other-sports/dwain-chambers-has-done-his-time-so-court-should-set-him-free-for-olympics-7562314.html">are accepted</a> (and sometimes welcomed) back into sport – some even after <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/justin-gatlin-doping-drugs-100m-champion-scandal-world-champion-usa-a8117561.html">multiple doping offences</a>. </p>
<p>In many sports, athletes’ chequered pasts are ignored in favour of their on-field ability. It is often the actions that come as a result of their behaviour that are judged, and not the infringement itself.</p>
<p>Athletes frequently transgress, but their subsequent redemption is often woven into the narrative around them. Stories around sporting heroes <a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-enough-to-be-a-hero-71631">follow several patterns</a>, but the most recognised is the hero’s journey. The “hero” sets out on a quest but is faced by a crisis or descends into a hellish underworld. They “heroically” overcome these challenges and ultimately return to glory.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/are-you-monomythic-joseph-campbell-and-the-heros-journey-27074">Are you monomythic? Joseph Campbell and the hero's journey</a>
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<p>In this instance, Smith, Warner and Bancroft are in a hell of their own making. If they manage to return, and do so triumphantly, then it is likely they will be forgiven – and some may even forget their role in this sorry affair. Only time will tell whether they will again be considered heroic.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/94096/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If the Australian cricketers involved in a ball-tampering scandal manage to return to the game, and do so triumphantly, it is likely they will be forgiven – and some may even forget their role in it.Keith Parry, Senior Lecturer in Sport Management, Western Sydney UniversityEmma Kavanagh, Senior Lecturer in Sports Psychology and Coaching Sciences, Bournemouth UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/776542017-05-15T15:26:19Z2017-05-15T15:26:19ZHow corruption in Greek football makes the game’s future uncertain<p>With the 2016-17 football season coming to an end, it is no surprise that Olympiakos FC has yet again won Greece’s Super League. Often referred to <a href="http://www.thefalsenine.co.uk/2013/02/04/greek-football-a-tale-of-one-city/">as a monopoly</a>, Greece’s top league has been won by Olympiakos <a href="http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-greece-idUKKCN0W10N8">19 out of the last 21 seasons</a>, making Greek football one of the most predictable championships in Europe. This level of predictability poses a significant threat to the game’s popularity and commercial power.</p>
<p>The consequences of such a predictable league can already be seen in the continuing decline <a href="http://slideplayer.gr/slide/11141676/">in attendance at Greek games</a>. An average of 4,300 spectators attend each game at top flight Super League matches (a reduction in attendance by 12% between 2008-09 and 2012-13), which also has a big knock-on effect on the game’s commercial value to advertisers.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, activities off the pitch <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14660970.2017.1302936">make the game’s future even more uncertain</a>. An investigation <a href="http://greece.greekreporter.com/2016/10/31/match-fixing-trial-postponed-until-november-7-as-courtroom-deemed-too-small-for-84-defendants/">which began in 2011</a> into the match fixing of more than 40 games played in the 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons in the Super League, Football League (second tier) and national cup matches, is still ongoing. </p>
<h2>A perplexing scandal</h2>
<p>The scandal <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12117-014-9239-3">came to light in 2011</a> when more than 130 pages of telephone conversation transcripts, which were the result of wiretapping by the Greek national intelligence agency, were made public. <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/soccer-europe-greece-corruption-idUSL3E7HN2W720110623">Charges were originally filed</a> against 85 people, including football players, referees, agents, football club owners and governing body officials, employed in more than 26 football clubs. It is the biggest and most perplexing match-fixing scandal the country has ever seen. And <a href="http://www.wsc.co.uk/the-archive/923-Europe/4999-the-departed">the last one</a> was only in 2002. </p>
<p>The wiretapped conversations gave a front row seat to shady agreements, promises of reward and threats of violence. But despite the huge publicity that originally surrounded these revelations, the trials – and news on the case – have <a href="http://greece.greekreporter.com/2016/10/31/match-fixing-trial-postponed-until-november-7-as-courtroom-deemed-too-small-for-84-defendants/">made slow progress</a>. Six years later it is still unclear what exactly happened in the seasons under question. One high profile figure, Super League chairman and Olympiakos owner Evangelos Marinakis, <a href="http://en.protothema.gr/full-and-complete-acquittal-for-olympiacos-marinakis/">was acquitted in 2015</a>. </p>
<h2>Unanswered questions</h2>
<p>The seasons that followed the scandal’s exposure were also tainted with further serious allegations. One former referee alleged that his bakery business was vandalised in 2012 for refusing to comply with a request <a href="http://europe.newsweek.com/greece-charges-41-over-match-fixing-football-scandal-deepens-327763">to match fix</a>. More recently, all league games in November 2016 were briefly suspended while authorities investigated an <a href="http://www.ekathimerini.com/213815/article/ekathimerini/news/probe-finds-blaze-at-greek-refs-home-was-arson">arson attack</a> on the head of Greece’s refereeing committee holiday home. Another member of the committee <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/nov/09/greece-suspend-football-arson-attack-refereeing-chief">resigned</a> after being threatened by two men on his doorstep.</p>
<p>Taking all of this into consideration, the future of Greek football appears to be far from bright. And fan feeling seems to reflect this. One <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2835752/Bundesliga-pips-Premier-League-attendance-table-recording-second-biggest-average-global-professional-sport-NFL.html">recent study</a> suggested that the Greek public had lost interest in domestic football because of its poor image. According to <a href="http://www.kathimerini.gr/791452/article/epikairothta/a8lhtismos/apa3iwmeno-to-ellhniko-podosfairo">another study</a> of Greek fans in 2014, 91% of the 1,006 responders blamed the Greek football’s negative image on systematic bias of league club organisers for specific clubs. About 86% of the respondents said that a government tolerance towards criminal and corrupt practices in football was to blame for its poor situation. Many thought that a significant number of football matches were influenced by match-fixing (76.5%) and that referees were considered to be an integral part of the match-fixing process (78.5%).</p>
<p>Numerous questions still remain unanswered and with the match-fixing case still yet to conclude, predictable results and a public that has clearly lost confidence in the management of the game, it’s reasonable to worry about the future of Greek football.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77654/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Argyro Elisavet Manoli does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Predictable results and unresolved corruption scandals are a serious issue for the future of the Greek game.Argyro Elisavet Manoli, Lecturer in Sports Marketing and Communications, Loughborough UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/710722017-01-15T19:01:38Z2017-01-15T19:01:38ZGame, set and match-fix: what more can be done to stop corruption in tennis?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152338/original/image-20170111-29028-1s64znp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Young Australian tennis player Oliver Anderson has been charged with match-fixing over a game in 2016.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Lukas Coch</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/sport/tennis/tennis-match-fixer-charged-after-country-victorian-tournament-20170105-gtm861.html">charges</a> brought recently against reigning Australian Open junior champion Oliver Anderson, and the <a href="http://tennisintegrityunit.com/media-releases/nick-lindahl-brandon-walkin-and-isaac-frost-sanctioned-tennis-corruption-offences">suspensions</a> of three low-ranking Australian players for match-fixing, highlight the ongoing issue of corruption in tennis. </p>
<p>With tennis’ first Grand Slam of the year – the Australian Open – starting on Monday, what more can be done to stamp it out?</p>
<h2>Scale of the problem</h2>
<p>Tennis authorities maintain match-fixing occurs at an “<a href="http://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/35319202">incredibly small level</a>”. However, they have conceded there has been a significant upswing in suspicious matches reported to them. “Alerts” rose from <a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/culture-media-and-sport-committee/match-fixing-in-tennis/oral/29768.html">14 in 2012</a> to <a href="http://www.tennisintegrityunit.com/annual-review/2016/">292 in 2016</a>. </p>
<p>2016 was an especially notable year for match-fixing in tennis. It began with the joint <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/heidiblake/the-tennis-racket?utm_term=.ci9M978nm#.te4aojZ6B">BBC-Buzzfeed investigation</a> in January that contained accusations of under-enforcement and complacency among tennis authorities. It ended in December, when Spanish police <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/01/sports/tennis/match-fixing-arrests-spain.html?_r=1">arrested</a> 34 people – including six players – suspected of “being involved in a criminal betting organisation”.</p>
<p>It is difficult to be precise about the exact scale of match-fixing in tennis. But there is ample evidence that it is a significant issue:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>The Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) handed out <a href="http://tennisintegrityunit.com/media-releases">nine sanctions</a> to officials and players involved in corrupt conduct in 2016.</p></li>
<li><p>Criminal prosecutions are under way against two players in <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/heidiblake/heres-the-evidence-of-worldwide-match-fixing-prosecutors-say?bftwuk&utm_term=.xgGL1vljz#.fnkjJOzXA">Italy</a>.</p></li>
<li><p>A New York Times journalist was provided accurate <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/28/sports/tennis/australian-open-match-fixing-essay.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=1">“tip-offs”</a> of upcoming fixed scorelines.</p></li>
<li><p>Betting companies have <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/heidiblake/the-tennis-racket?utm_term=.ci9M978nm#.te4aojZ6B">internal lists</a> of suspicious players.</p></li>
<li><p>Fan communities are now capable of capturing <a href="https://twitter.com/TheTennisNerds/status/562365156806905857?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">gifs</a> and <a href="http://www.sportdw.com/2015/07/fix-tennis-golubev-nedovyesov.html">video</a> of matchplay behaviour from players that coincides with <a href="http://www.sportdw.com/2015/02/fix-tennis-match-denys-molchanov.html">irregular betting activity</a>.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Incentives for corruption</h2>
<p>As banned player Daniel Koellerer <a href="http://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/35319202">suggests</a>, it is extremely easy for a corrupt player to over-hit the ball once or twice and fix the scoreline, thus personally netting $US50,000.</p>
<p>With the rise of online gambling and, in particular, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2016/02/01/4395832.htm">unregulated gambling</a> markets (which jointly turn over <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2016/02/01/4395832.htm">US$1 trillion a year</a>), increasing financial reward is available for those who may seek to criminally corrupt tennis.</p>
<p>Male players ranked outside the top 100 struggle to make ends meet playing at lower Challenger and Futures-level tournaments. There, prize money can be <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2015/02/denys_molchanov_match_fixing_allegations_pro_tennis_has_a_match_fixing_problem.html">as low as US$500</a>, or <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/28/sports/tennis/australian-open-match-fixing-essay.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=1">US$98</a> for a first-round loser. A match-fixer may offer upwards of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/28/sports/tennis/australian-open-match-fixing-essay.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=1">$3,000 to $15,000</a>.</p>
<p>So, the financial incentives for corruption are clear.</p>
<h2>What can be done?</h2>
<p>With 120,000 matches per year globally involving hundreds of players and officials, and gambling syndicates ensuring there is an increasing financial reward, the problem of match-fixing in tennis is likely to persist.</p>
<p>Total eradication is unlikely. Therefore, the strategy becomes one of harm minimisation.</p>
<p>“Soft” measures such as <a href="http://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/38394152">increasing prizemoney</a> for lower levels is a welcome development. This is especially because “hard” enforcement by public authorities is unlikely, owing to the difficulties in building successful prosecutions and the unlikelihood that national or state law enforcement would have the capacity to combat complex international gambling corruption.</p>
<p>There have only been a few instances to date of law-enforcement agencies pursuing match-fixing in <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/sport/tennis/exprofessional-tennis-player-nick-lindahl-convicted-of-match-fixing-20160418-go93jr.html">Australia</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/01/sports/tennis/match-fixing-arrests-spain.html?_r=1">Spain</a> and <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/heidiblake/heres-the-evidence-of-worldwide-match-fixing-prosecutors-say?bftwuk&utm_term=.xgGL1vljz#.fnkjJOzXA">Italy</a>. </p>
<p>Therefore, tennis authorities must step forward. They did so in 2008 by establishing the TIU, an anti-corruption enforcement body <a href="http://www.tennisintegrityunit.com/about-tiu">funded by</a> the sport’s peak bodies. </p>
<p>Tennis authorities are to be commended for taking steps to tackle the problem. However, the TIU has come under fire in the past for having <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/heidiblake/the-tennis-racket?utm_term=.ci9M978nm#.te4aojZ6B">weak enforcement</a>, being “<a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/heidiblake/the-tennis-racket?utm_term=.ci9M978nm#.te4aojZ6B">far too secretive</a>”, <a href="http://www.si.com/tennis/2016/01/18/australian-open-scott-ferguson-match-fixing-betting-tennis">ignoring</a> information provided by betting companies, and being critically <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/heidiblake/heres-the-evidence-of-worldwide-match-fixing-prosecutors-say?bftwuk&utm_term=.xgGL1vljz#.fnkjJOzXA">under-resourced</a>. </p>
<p>The TIU also faces fundamental questions about <a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/culture-media-and-sport-committee/match-fixing-in-tennis/oral/29768.html">being conflicted</a> between uncovering corruption, while also being funded by the industry that would be damaged by any reputational fallout from its investigations. </p>
<p>Since the BBC-Buzzfeed investigation, the TIU has undergone several reforms. These include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>raising the number of investigative staff from <a href="http://www.tennisintegrityunit.com/media-releases/tennis-integrity-unit-briefing-note-october-2016">four to ten</a>;</p></li>
<li><p>encouraging more player education; and </p></li>
<li><p>launching an <a href="http://www.tennisirp.com/">Independent Review Panel</a> to audit its anti-corruption efforts. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>However, the TIU would be wise to appreciate the need for crime control bodies to enhance their legitimacy through transparency and engagement with key stakeholders. </p>
<p>Like the police, or other non-governmental anti-corruption bodies such as <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/review-of-international-studies/article/the-legitimacy-of-transnational-ngos-lessons-from-the-experience-of-transparency-international-in-germany-and-france/D4CFD4173B58C179F72B560A7A5D5C2C">Transparency International</a>, being <a href="http://understandingcriminology.pbworks.com/f/Tyler+-+Enhancing+Police+Legitimacy.pdf">seen as a legitimate authority</a> is a key precursor to being an effective enforcer of crime control. It would encourage co-operation as well as promote <a href="http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8230.html">voluntary obedience</a> to legal and moral norms. </p>
<p>Enhancing such legitimacy would involve weakening the TIU’s “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/19/sports/tennis/tenniss-watchdog-seems-to-operate-in-the-dark.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0">cone of silence</a>” and inviting oversight from more trusted and respected sources. </p>
<p>The TIU <a href="http://www.readcube.com/articles/10.1007/s10611-017-9680-8?author_access_token=WXtjp7BVhUITJKPcN5qB6_e4RwlQNchNByi7wbcMAY4dpSqcGg4-f-EmmbzMk9NSdA8262I0X4syMv-lRmY4EdR7Q40t8iXxMYaii7Om85b84ZbivVZPwPB8MEhtnYfq5oj99voolNbOoFUXXiNUoQ%3D%3D">could enhance its legitimacy</a> by forming a monitoring and deliberation body made up of a mix of key stakeholders. This could include current and former players, state or international law enforcement representatives, anti-corruption experts and a range of other interested parties that would enhance the TIU’s credibility through oversight and accountability.</p>
<p>If the TIU is to be considered a trusted and effective anti-corruption force, it must be aware of the need to improve its legitimacy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/71072/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Diarmaid Harkin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The problem of corruption in tennis is likely to be an ongoing threat. So, it is important that the Tennis Integrity Unit develop into a trusted and convincing anti-corruption team.Diarmaid Harkin, Lecturer in Criminology, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/588702016-05-08T20:05:06Z2016-05-08T20:05:06ZIntegrity in sport needs to grow from the grassroots level<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/121461/original/image-20160506-5708-rsag58.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Integrity in sport should start from the bottom up.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-1633145p1.html">Shutterstock/Paolo Bona</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The sporting world was shocked by yet another scandal last week when the Parramatta Eels were found guilty of what National Rugby League CEO <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/video/video-sport/video-rugby-league/parramatta-eels-deliberate-system-of-cheating-20160503-4eeft.html">Todd Greenberg called</a> “a deliberate, coordinated and sustained system of salary cap cheating”. </p>
<p>This sort of behaviour doesn’t just affect the major league team. It can have consequences at all levels of the game.</p>
<p>This means global and national attempts to improve governance and safeguard sport from corruption need to have community sport reach if they are to be effective.</p>
<p>The International Centre for Sport Security announced in April this year the creation of a 50+ nation Sport Integrity Global Alliance (<a href="http://www.theicss.org/en/news/read/new-sport-integrity-global-alliance-siga-launched">SIGA</a>) to drive reform in sport. </p>
<p>The tipping point for reform was likely the <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32897066">FIFA scandal</a> that has rocked the soccer world since 2015 with claims of widespread corruption. SIGA is a neutral coalition of international stakeholders across the government and private sector seeking to promote good governance and financial transparency in sport.</p>
<p>In Australia, there have been widespread changes to rebuild sport integrity and public trust. Much of this follows the <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/national/this-is-the-blackest-day-in-australian-sport-20130207-2e1i3.html">crisis in Australian sport</a> in 2013, which included the Australian Crime Commission report into organised crime in sport and the AFL supplements scandal. </p>
<p>In addition to expanded policing powers, the Australian government has established a <a href="http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/content/national-integrity-of-sport-unit">National Integrity in Sport Unit</a>. The peak body Exercise & Sports Science Australia (<a href="https://www.essa.org.au/">ESSA</a>) has developed a sport science accreditation scheme.</p>
<p>Professional sport organisations are increasingly employing integrity officers and the market is filling with sport integrity-related courses, workshops and seminars.</p>
<p>There is no doubt that substantial international and national efforts will be required to re-establish the credibility of sport. That’s a theme that will feature prominently at today’s <a href="http://www.vucentenary.com.au/events/integrity-sport-forum-2016">Integrity in Sport Forum: In Governance We Trust</a> in Melbourne, sponsored by Victoria University and Sport Australia Hall of Fame.</p>
<p>The Forum will bring together more than 200 of Australia’s elite and community sport governance and integrity officials, as well as business and community leaders. The aim is to discuss ways forward to meet a range of sport integrity challenges. </p>
<h2>From the bottom up</h2>
<p>While there is a need for these coordinated efforts to target doping, match fixing, financial corruption and other threats to sport integrity, more support is needed at the local sport level.</p>
<p>Research presented at a sport stakeholders forum in July last year suggested that local communities <a href="https://www.vu.edu.au/contact-us/dennis-hemphill">may be unaware</a> of the extent to which performance enhancing substances and methods, illicit drugs and illegal gambling markets have filtered down to the community sport level.</p>
<p>Managers, coaches and players who might be aware of them are willing to do something about it. But they may not be aware of who to contact for more information or how to report suspect behaviours. </p>
<p>In a sport sector managed largely by volunteers, there may simply be insufficient time to implement procedures to prevent and police these dubious behaviours and practices.</p>
<h2>From the top down</h2>
<p>Moreover, the high-performance ethos, which may be appropriate at the elite sport level, has gradually filtered down to community sport level. </p>
<p>With that has come some of the threats to sporting integrity. It is not uncommon to see increasing training loads and the use of supplements or other means to improve performance or manage pain and injuries. Player and umpire abuse by overzealous coaches and fans is another symptom.</p>
<p>At the same time, the rise of sport betting, even at junior sport levels, increases the risk of cheating to lose.</p>
<p>Sport integrity can be thought of as the consistent living up to declared standards and principles. These principles are different at elite, school and community sport levels.</p>
<p>It goes without saying that elite sport focuses on the value of performance excellence. </p>
<p>But the educational value of school sport is still thought to lie in skill acquisition, fitness and character building. The mission statements and mottoes of community sport organisations usually centre on participation, fun, doing your best and community building.</p>
<h2>Leadership from above</h2>
<p>One way forward is for the governing bodies of sport to provide the leadership and additional resources to help local sporting clubs “walk the talk”, that is, uphold the values and principles that are appropriate to community sport.</p>
<p>The Australian Sport Commission provides resources for <a href="http://www.ausport.gov.au/supporting/integrity_in_sport/integrity_partners_and_community_programsgood">sport integrity</a> and <a href="http://www.ausport.gov.au/supporting/governance/governance_principles">governance</a>, as does <a href="http://vicsport.com.au/good-governance-framework-toolkit-update-released/">VicSport</a> and the <a href="http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/content/national-integrity-of-sport-unit">National Integrity in Sport Unit</a>.</p>
<p>Victoria University is currently working with Sport and Recreation Victoria on a sport integrity readiness project. This aims to provide the state’s sporting associations and eventually community clubs with a handy self-assessment tool to improve awareness and management of sport integrity risks.</p>
<p>There is no reason why such tools could not be adopted by other Australian states and territories, or even clubs and associations overseas.</p>
<p>More is still needed to improve the uptake of these resources and their effective use by local communities to safeguard sport for the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/58870/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dennis Hemphill, as part of a Victoria University research team, has received funding from the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services to conduct an analysis of, and develop resources for sport integrity awareness and management capability in community sport. </span></em></p>Efforts to wipe out doping, match fixing, corruption and other threats to sport integrity need to start at the local level.Dennis Hemphill, Associate Professor of Sport Ethics, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/533782016-01-20T19:22:52Z2016-01-20T19:22:52ZAdvantage gambling, but corruption risk surely isn’t worth it for tennis<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108678/original/image-20160120-26105-1ybeutk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tennis provides an excellent example of a sport of global significance being tainted by gambling's influence.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Tracey Nearmy</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The tennis world has been rocked this week by <a href="http://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/35319202">allegations</a> that a number of players appear to have fixed matches at the behest of gambling syndicates over nearly a decade.</p>
<p>Tennis authorities <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-18/atp-absolutely-rejects-match-fixing-evidence-suppressed/7095004">scoff at the suggestion</a> that such practices are widespread or that they have ignored information provided to them. They also reject the notion that entering into sponsorship deals with bookmakers – such as William Hill, sponsor of the Australian Open – makes corruption more likely. </p>
<p>Rather, the <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/sport/tennis/australian-open-2016-stanislas-wawrinka-says-gambling-sponsorships-can-help-protect-tennis-20160119-gm9ifj">argument goes</a>, co-operation with the bookies facilitates access to gambling data. </p>
<p>The investigation that uncovered the match-fixing allegations utilised analysis of this data to identify the suspected players. In the absence of hard evidence such as surveillance material, bank records or telecommunications metadata, statistical analysis is the way to identify patterns of behaviour and identify likely cheats.</p>
<p>The bookies already do this. And if they are as public spirited as they claim, surely allowing access to data for purposes of scrutiny by sporting or regulatory authorities is a public duty? It doesn’t require a cosy sponsorship deal.</p>
<h2>Drawing parallels</h2>
<p>Unlike many businesses, wagering relies on the operations of unconnected entities to generate the markets that are its stock in trade. In this, it <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1596363/">resembles</a> the relentless “investment” in derivatives of the US housing market, which fuelled the global financial crisis.</p>
<p>In the end, the size of this market dwarfed the real activity it was focused on. When it collapsed, it brought that real world down with it. The danger for global sport is that the sports betting bubble will have the same effect.</p>
<p>Sports betting has enjoyed <a href="https://theconversation.com/with-sports-betting-on-the-rise-can-we-avoid-a-tsunami-of-gambling-harm-46192">enormous growth</a> in recent years. In Australia, its 16% annual growth has far outstripped other gambling modes.</p>
<p>The market in sports betting is also heavily driven by technology and relentless expansion into more sports. Anyone watching the Australian Open this year on Australian free-to-air TV will notice the proliferation of sports betting ads. So will spectators in the <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/sport/tennis/australian-open-gambling-ads-to-hit-melbourne-park-for-first-time-20160117-gm7n31.html">major arenas</a>.</p>
<p>So, the current controversy over match-fixing has some ironic elements. World number two Andy Murray <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/jan/19/andy-murray-hypocritical-betting-firm-sponsorship-match-fixing">suggested</a> there was a touch of hypocrisy about telling the players to have no connection with gambling interests (including accepting sponsorship from bookies) while blithely maintaining that gambling sponsorship generated no conflicts for the sport overall.</p>
<p>Gambling is big business; its money buys <a href="https://theconversation.com/whatever-the-truth-of-garretts-story-its-about-gambling-industry-politics-and-influence-48728">a lot of influence</a>. One area where this plays out is the symbiotic relationship between governments and gambling businesses. The revenue governments derive from gambling makes them largely oblivious to the corrupting influence of gambling dollars on politics and policies. </p>
<h2>Saving sport from itself</h2>
<p>Sporting organisations are no different to political institutions. Gambling has spread its sponsorship wings and provided a new stream of revenue to popular sporting codes. </p>
<p>Beyond the codes themselves, broadcasters and other commercial media also find the stream of revenue from gambling ads lucrative. That in turn pumps up what they can offer for broadcast rights for popular leagues. And the cycle continues.</p>
<p>It’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-we-shouldnt-be-surprised-that-tennis-is-implicated-in-match-fixing-53362">hardly surprising</a> that individual players – particularly those at the start of their careers who are often struggling to meet the costs of staying on the tour – would somehow fall victim to the temptations of all that money. Sadly, once corrupt gamblers or their agents have their hooks into you, they never let go.</p>
<p>And, in this debate, the factor that is usually forgotten is the cost to ordinary people. With <a href="https://theconversation.com/sport-tom-waterhouse-and-the-gamblification-of-everyday-life-13170">rampant promotion of gambling</a> on a seemingly never-ending exponential trajectory, more people are likely to gamble. Many will be young people who have never known sports free of the influence of gambling. And, it seems, they now view all sporting contests through the lens of the odds and the “value” available from different bookies. </p>
<p>For many of these people, gambling harms will ruin (or in too many cases end) their lives and greatly damage those of their family, friends and in some cases employers and others.</p>
<p>More broadly, the inestimable value of the untrammelled enjoyment of sport is lost. If you love a specific sport and see it degraded by scandal after scandal, some part of the enjoyment is gone forever. Tennis provides an excellent example of a sport of global significance being tainted by the commercial interests of a relatively small but increasingly lucrative and powerful business.</p>
<p>It is not feasible to clean up sport tournament by tournament, or country by country. An anti-corruption agency with the ability to look at these matters with an unjaundiced eye is probably necessary, and sooner rather than later.</p>
<p>It wouldn’t hurt to see the ever-closer associations between sports and gambling businesses wound back dramatically. Tobacco provided <a href="https://www.clearinghouseforsport.gov.au/knowledge_base/organised_sport/sport_integrity/tobacco_sponsorship_and_advertising_in_sport">more than one-quarter</a> of Australian sports sponsorship in the 1980s. At one point it sustained some sports’ financial viability. But when it ended, no sport went to the wall.</p>
<p>Gambling is a corrupter of institutions, as well as a dangerous product for many of those who consume it as intended. It must be seen as such. It needs to be properly and carefully regulated, and it needs to be treated with the considerable care that any dangerous product deserves.</p>
<p>If the price of clean sport and corruption-free political and social processes is a modest reduction in global gambling revenues or growth, I suspect most sports fans would be happy with the deal. Surely, right now, tennis lovers would be.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/53378/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charles Livingstone has received funding from Victorian and South Australian governments (the funds for which were derived from hypothecation of gambling tax revenue to research purposes), from the Australian and New Zealand School of Government, and from non-government organisations for research into multiple aspects of poker machine gambling, including regulatory reform, existing harm minimisation practices, and technical characteristics of gambling forms. He has received travel and co-operation grants from the Alberta Problem Gambling Research Centre, the Finnish Institute for Public Health, the Ontario Problem Gambling Research Committee, and the Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand. He is a Chief Investigator on an Australian Research Council funded project researching mechanisms of influence on government by the tobacco, alcohol and gambling industries. He has undertaken consultancy research for local governments and non-government organisations in Australia and the UK seeking to restrict or reduce the concentration of poker machines and gambling impacts, and was a member of the Australian government's Ministerial Expert Advisory Group on Gambling in 2010-11. He is a member of the Australian Greens and of the Alliance for Gambling Reform.</span></em></p>The current controversy over match-fixing in tennis has some ironic elements. Anyone watching the Australian Open on free-to-air TV will notice the proliferation of sports betting ads.Charles Livingstone, Senior Lecturer, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/533942016-01-20T11:39:24Z2016-01-20T11:39:24ZCan you spot a match fix by looking at the numbers?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108577/original/image-20160119-29777-9rpkp7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Aces high.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tennis by Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Match fixing is unthinkable for most sports professionals whose very persons, careers and reputations are built on a single-minded focus on winning. However, allegations over a number of years, across a range of sports, have suggested that for some the ability to lose convincingly gains the greatest income. </p>
<p>First there were the match fixing bans given to some cricketers <a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/654219.html">in the early 2000s</a>, and <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15160226">again in 2011</a>. Now <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/35319202">there are allegations</a> that officials ignored red flags on as many as 16 tennis players ranked in the top 50 who may have thrown matches – including at Wimbledon – accusations they deny.</p>
<p>Throughout most jurisdictions match fixing is a criminal offence, or at least a very serious professional offence which undermines any value a game, or sport, may have. After all, who wants to play against someone who is trying to lose the game. The problem for both police and the sporting bodies is how compelling the evidence is. </p>
<h2>Losing is part of the game</h2>
<p>Evidence can come from several quarters: confessions and <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/sportvideo/cricketvideo/8865557/Mazhar-Majeed-I-have-been-fixing-cricket-matches-constantly.html">recordings of conversations</a>, as in the 2010-2011 set of cricketing scandals, and suspicious betting patterns around particular matches, as is alleged in the tennis case. Most contentious, however, is evidence from the actual sporting outcomes themselves and whether these can be used to verify an accusation. Is a world-class player losing to another who isn’t considered that good really proof that the former is losing deliberately? </p>
<p>If there was no uncertainty in the outcomes of sporting events then it wouldn’t be much of a game. A certain amount of upset is integral to any sport. Just last year <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/sep/19/south-africa-japan-rugby-world-cup-2015-match-report">South Africa suffered a shock defeat to Japan</a> in the Rugby World Cup, <a href="http://www.mmafighting.com/2015/11/16/9747010/holly-holm-posts-first-statement-since-defeating-ronda-rousey-ufc-mma-ufc193">Holly Holm defeated Ronda Rousey</a> in the Ultimate Fighting Championship 193, and Dustin Brown, ranked 102, <a href="http://www.skysports.com/tennis/wimbledon/news/32498/9901949/who-is-dustin-brown-and-how-did-he-beat-rafa-nadal-at-wimbledon">beat two-time former champion</a> Rafael Nadal in the second round at Wimbledon. Examples further back include the US ice-hockey team beating the Soviet Union’s Red Army in the 1980 Winter Olympics. All were classic events – and there is, of course, no suggestion that any of them were fixed.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8gfD134ED54?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>So, how can we go about using the evidence of unexpected losses of games as evidence that those games were in some way deliberately fixed?</p>
<h2>Crunching the numbers</h2>
<p>This area of statistical evidence has close structural similarities to what could be called “the nurse problem”. This is where a medical professional has been suspected of harming those in their charge, and the only evidence is a series of adverse outcomes in the patients. This may seem more serious than match fixing but as a problem it has exactly the same features, and exactly the same reasons as to why as yet we have no fully satisfactory solution to it.</p>
<p>It isn’t possible to directly calculate probabilities for hypotheses or propositions. However, many think that it is possible, which can muddle understanding. For instance, we cannot calculate the probability that a nurse has harmed a patient, or, that a tennis player has deliberately lost a game. What we can do is calculate the probability of seeing a given outcome were it true that the loss of the match was entirely accidental – and that is what statistics are quite good at.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108582/original/image-20160119-29777-1k1w54k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108582/original/image-20160119-29777-1k1w54k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108582/original/image-20160119-29777-1k1w54k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108582/original/image-20160119-29777-1k1w54k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108582/original/image-20160119-29777-1k1w54k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108582/original/image-20160119-29777-1k1w54k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108582/original/image-20160119-29777-1k1w54k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">When calculating probabilities isn’t that simple.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-252327457/stock-photo-probability-exam-study-set-hand-writing-notes-glasses-pencil-and-calculator.html?src=AXrGDjfDh4_Ejsi5ow0qeA-1-20">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>We can look at the probabilities concerning two competing propositions: that a match or game was deliberately lost; and that it was lost entirely by accident. We then consider the ratio of the two probabilities calculated under the two propositions. This ratio, sometimes termed a likelihood ratio, is a number which represents the force of the evidence to influence us one way or another. </p>
<p>As an example: one tennis player might, when playing another specific tennis player, have played four matches, only winning one of these, and we are sure none of those matches was fixed. Then, let us say that our more able tennis player goes on to lose a match against the lesser player. Were it true that the loss was purely involuntary, then an estimate of the probability of that particular outcome <em>might</em> be one in four.</p>
<p>If the better of the two players is very good, and were it considered inevitable that they would lose the match if they tried to do so, then the probability of a lost match given they were trying to lose might be one. In this case the value of the evidence that the match has been unexpectedly lost might be one, divided by one in four; which is four. This means that a lost match is four times more likely were match fixing going on, than if no match fixing is taking place. This, by itself, is not a very compelling figure in favour of match fixing.</p>
<p>The real problem here is the value of the probability of seeing a lost match were the better player actually trying to lose. In the example above we assumed a value of one, but there is no justification – neither theoretical or historical – for this value. This is the drawback with this sort of evidential problem, either in the context of sporting events or with medical and caring professions. </p>
<p>There can usually be an appeal to past data for an estimate of the probability of the unexpected adverse outcome were it true that no wrongdoing had taken place. In tennis most players have played most other players many times, and in a medical context hospitals keep meticulous records of serious incidents. Both these sources can provide perfectly legitimate estimates for probabilities. There is however no such data on which to base estimates for the probabilities of an adverse outcome in a hospital were any of the medical staff actually trying to harm the patients. It is an experiment which cannot be run. One cannot simply let a known murderer loose among the high dependency units to see how many patients are harmed. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108585/original/image-20160119-29783-135xymi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108585/original/image-20160119-29783-135xymi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108585/original/image-20160119-29783-135xymi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108585/original/image-20160119-29783-135xymi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108585/original/image-20160119-29783-135xymi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108585/original/image-20160119-29783-135xymi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108585/original/image-20160119-29783-135xymi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Follow the betting …</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-299107145/stock-photo-businessman-using-smartphone-against-gambling-app-screen.html?src=cdIe96Wn-FLTG_PBvpvHvw-1-0">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>In the 2010 Pakistan cricket case, which involved spot betting on step-over no-balls we can make some estimates as some players later confessed to deliberately stepping over the crease, and as their entire playing history is known, and they weren’t trying to fix games for most of it, decent estimates of the probabilities can be made. Mostly though, there is very little data for deliberately thrown games.</p>
<p>It is disappointing that statisticians have no foolproof way of evaluating these two disparate sounding, but structurally similar types of evidence. As statisticians we must continue to work on nurse and carer problems, but if people are concerned that their sports and games are being corrupted by deliberate fixing, then lessening the reliance upon betting, or somehow changing the nature of betting, may offer some way forward as all match fixing appears related to it and the vast sums of money linked to it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/53394/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Lucy is a Fellow of the RSS, and member of the Forensic Science Society</span></em></p>You might think statisticians could work out if a player has been cheating – it’s not that simple.David Lucy, Lecturer in Statistics, Lancaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/533622016-01-19T00:24:28Z2016-01-19T00:24:28ZWhy we shouldn’t be surprised that tennis is implicated in match-fixing<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108476/original/image-20160118-31821-1i1zyif.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tennis is a sport very suitable for corruption in this hyper-commercialised era.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Tracey Nearmy</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The first day of the Australian Open was marred by <a href="http://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/35319202">revelations</a> alleging widespread match-fixing and cover-ups in men’s tennis stretching back more than a decade. World number one Novak Djokovic <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-18/novak-djokovic-tennis-investigation-match-fixing/7096778">confirmed</a> he was approached with a reported offer of US$200,000 in 2006 to throw a match.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/darts-rise-is-a-cautionary-tale-for-sport-in-a-commercialised-world-46172">Hyper-commercialised sport</a> in the 21st century has resulted in a number of benefits for athletes and spectators. Athletes are able to make significant amounts of money; spectators can enjoy excitement of the highest order without having to leave their lounge rooms. But it is naïve to think that all changes have been beneficial.</p>
<p>In recent decades doping has consistently been the <a href="https://theconversation.com/if-cheating-is-normal-in-cycling-how-can-we-build-integrity-26345">most-visible negative consequence</a> of commercialised sport. So much pressure is now exerted on athletes that they are tempted, for whatever reason, to take performance-enhancing substances. </p>
<p>While the Australian public demands a level playing field, Australian athletes and sports have been <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-pomp-in-circumstance-cas-rules-against-essendon-players-53043">caught up</a> in doping. For the most part, though, Australian sports are heavily regulated and proactive in addressing doping. But the same cannot be said about gambling.</p>
<h2>Gambling and sport are entwined</h2>
<p>Online and live sports betting has become <a href="https://theconversation.com/with-sports-betting-on-the-rise-can-we-avoid-a-tsunami-of-gambling-harm-46192">much more prevalent</a> in recent years.</p>
<p>All major sports in Australia now have some kind of a relationship with sports betting agencies. Online bookmaker William Hill is the “official betting partner” of the Australian Open and – in a first for a Grand Slam tournament – it has been <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/sport/tennis/australian-open-gambling-ads-to-hit-melbourne-park-for-first-time-20160117-gm7n31.html">allowed to advertise</a> inside stadiums.</p>
<p>For television and pay-per-view providers, sports betting agencies provide significant advertising dollars. Betting agencies, alongside junk food and alcohol, form an <a href="https://theconversation.com/beer-and-chips-protected-species-as-sports-ban-healthy-eating-ads-14045">unholy trinity</a> of sports advertising in Australia.</p>
<p>Gambling, particularly on <a href="https://theconversation.com/gambling-on-pokies-is-like-tobacco-no-amount-of-it-is-safe-51037">poker machines</a>, can be destructive. So too has sports betting been responsible for creating a <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-28/online-gambling-addictions-among-young-men-dramatic-increase/6504282">new breed</a> of problem gamblers. Sports gambling is accepted as a rite of passage for many Australian males. </p>
<p>However, sporting authorities are cautious about upsetting their sponsors. Tennis officials <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-18/novak-djokovic-tennis-investigation-match-fixing/7096778">largely dismissed</a> the revelations of match-fixing as old news.</p>
<h2>Why tennis?</h2>
<p>Tennis is a sport very suitable for corruption in this hyper-commercialised era. Here’s why we shouldn’t surprised that match-fixers have targeted the sport:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Tennis is a one-on-one sport. If you wanted to manipulate an outcome, you would avoid team sports such as rugby league or netball. Too much can go wrong. Individual sports are different; corruption is easier to organise.</p></li>
<li><p>It is very difficult to prove a tennis match has been fixed: a player withdraws in the second set “injured”; a player double-faults on crucial points; a player makes a number of unforced errors.</p></li>
<li><p>Tennis players are taught and coached from an early age that they are professional and that they have only a limited time in the game. Money is a considerable concern for players and a great motivator. Those outside the top-ranked players would make more money by match-fixing than by playing on the tour.</p></li>
<li><p>Betting markets on tennis matches provide gamblers with an opportunity to wager on a host of “exotic” markets, not just head-to-head betting. This includes markets such as whether there will be a tiebreak set, who will win the next game, or the total number of games played.</p></li>
<li><p>It would seem that the authorities are keen not to address the issue. Sporting bodies, for publicity issues, are always keen to deny – just look at the recent <a href="https://theconversation.com/blatter-resigns-but-his-toxic-legacy-will-live-on-at-fifa-42728">FIFA scandal</a> and allegations of <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-athletics-doping-scandal-is-so-much-worse-than-fifa-corruption-53095">widespread doping</a> in Russian athletics.</p></li>
<li><p>The lifestyle of professional tennis athletes brings with it lots of down time and boring periods in hotel rooms in foreign countries.</p></li>
<li><p>In the commercialised world of tennis, sport has a different meaning. Kids are told about sport’s educational benefits, but they notice in the real world that it is really about making money.</p></li>
<li><p>Finally, and perhaps most importantly, sport is a commodity. People’s involvement largely revolves around financial remuneration.</p></li>
</ol><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/53362/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steve Georgakis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>For the most part, Australian sports are heavily regulated and proactive in addressing doping. The same cannot be said about gambling.Steve Georgakis, Senior Lecturer of Pedagogy and Sports Studies, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/533012016-01-18T06:04:52Z2016-01-18T06:04:52ZGame, set and scandal: the winners and losers amid claims of match-fixing in tennis<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108398/original/image-20160118-31828-1srqvs7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Who wants to gamble on a sport if they know the result has been fixed before the game is played?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Lucky Business</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="http://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/35319202">BBC</a> and <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/heidiblake/the-tennis-racket#.mxDQk9MBN">BuzzFeed News</a> say they have access to secret files exposing evidence of widespread suspected match-fixing in world tennis, including by eight players who are participating at the <a href="http://www.ausopen.com/index.html">Australian Open</a>, which opened in Melbourne today. Both declined to name the players.</p>
<p>The Tennis Integrity Unit (<a href="http://www.tennisintegrityunit.com/">TIU</a>) – supported by the Grand Slams, the International Tennis Federation (<a href="http://www.itftennis.com/">ITF</a>), the Association of Tennis Professionals (<a href="http://www.atpworldtour.com/">ATP</a>) and Women’s Tennis Association (<a href="http://www.wtatennis.com/">WTA</a>), but operating independent from all of these – upholds a zero-tolerance stance towards gambling-related corruption in the sport.</p>
<p>The news about allegations of match-fixing in tennis follows a turbulent week in the AFL where <a href="http://www.tas-cas.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Media_Release_4059.pdf">34 players have been banned</a> from playing or even participating in Australian football by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (<a href="http://www.tas-cas.org/en/index.html">CAS</a>).</p>
<p>And let’s not forget the ongoing sagas about <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32897066">FIFA and the World Cup</a>, and cycling’s trials and tribulations through <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/jan/15/lance-armstrong-admits-doping-winfrey">Lance Armstrong coming clean on the Oprah Winfrey</a> show about his systematic use of performance-enhancing substances.</p>
<h2>Foul play</h2>
<p>Fanatic Essendon fans have expressed widespread sympathy for the ordeal that their players have to go through, and continue to support their team. </p>
<p>Ultimately, the objective of Essendon’s supplements program was to influence the outcome of the performance contest, to produce athletes who were more likely to outperform their opponents and win on the field.</p>
<p>The CAS ruling was an expression of the illegality of these efforts. Essendon cheated and the players should have known better. They lose, the fans lose, the AFL lose and ironically, some other AFL teams may win.</p>
<p>Disgruntled fans may switch allegiance, sponsors may invest their dollars in other clubs and players may choose not to go to Essendon.</p>
<p>The excitement of a sporting contest is ultimately underpinned by the unpredictability of the outcome. We watch because there is a chance that either team or athlete can win and the closer the contest, the more exciting the match.</p>
<p>That, in turn, sparks a human desire to engage in secondary play, to have a competition about who might win. This can be a competition between friends, or with an official or unofficial third party, willing and able to engage in a bet on the outcome of sport.</p>
<h2>We like a fair game</h2>
<p>But what happens when the outcome of the sporting contest has been manipulated, unknown to the general public, and in some instances even without the legal betting agencies knowing?</p>
<p>On the first day of one of the biggest tennis tournaments on the globe, fans and commentators are faced with this very predicament. The BBC and Buzzfeed reports say the supposed unpredictable outcome of some high-profile tennis matches have been manipulated, fixed, in order to create unfair advantage for corrupt punters.</p>
<p>Because the BBC and Buzzfeed are not naming the eight players, all high-profile players are now implicated, and they may feel the pressure of public and media scrutiny. </p>
<p>Part of the context for this scandal is the news that betting agency William Hill will be widely exposed (through advertising) as the <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/sport/tennis/australian-open-gambling-ads-to-hit-melbourne-park-for-first-time-20160117-gm7n31.html#ixzz3xYXWGdsz">official gambling partner</a> of the Australian Open. Tennis Australia has negotiated a commercial deal that involves a small portion of betting revenues to flow into their coffers.</p>
<p>William Hill, of course, has nothing to do with the match-fixing allegations, but if fans feel they can’t trust some of the players, will they stop gambling on their matches?</p>
<h2>The losers</h2>
<p>William Hill and Tennis Australia may see their revenues diminish and join the ranks of losers. The implied link by sport gambling antagonists between match-fixing allegations and the business and sponsorship deals of legal betting companies is in that regard unfortunate and opportunistic.</p>
<p>But as a result of the implied link, there are winners and losers among the advocates and adversaries as well. Tennis Australia officials argue that a sponsored relationship with official betting companies allows them to support legal betting activity and assist them in eradicating illegal pursuits.</p>
<p>Tennis Australia further commits to this by supporting research that independently and rationally calculates the chances of various tennis superstars to be crowned the winner at the Australian Open. To that end, it has been predicted that <a href="http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/news/articles/2016-01-18/the_numbers_game_predicting_the_ao_champs.html">Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams</a> have more than 50% chance of winning in 2016.</p>
<p>On the other hand, there are those who argue that any association between sport and gambling sends the wrong message – a message that gambling is perfectly fine – and that such advertising hides the likelihood of addictive or destructive behaviour.</p>
<p>Like the Tennis Integrity Unit, I believe that Tennis Australia at the Australian Open is fully committed to investigating, preventing and ultimately exterminating activities that contribute to illegal gambling.</p>
<p>I also get the perspective of revenue maximisation, and that the value that Tennis Australia creates with events such as the Australian Open needs to be mined. Surely the multimillion dollar revenue that the betting agencies reap, resulting from performances of tennis stars on display at the Australian Open, needs to be shared with the organisation producing that value?</p>
<p>How that is best done remains a question not only for tennis but for all sport organisations associating themselves (commercially) with betting. A fundamental dilemma of any sporting organisation is how to maximise the resources that are available to the sport, and how to do this without violating the integrity of that sport. That is, to play by the rules and strive with all that is within the athletes and their support staff (and nothing more!), to win the contest.</p>
<p>Only then can fans, members, supporters, sponsors, and those who work in sport – the professionals and the volunteers – be guaranteed that they are not cheated out of a good fair dinkum competition. It might even lead to a bit of punt on the predicted result.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/53301/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hans Westerbeek received research funding from Tennis Australia in the past and may do so in the future. </span></em></p>The tennis world is the latest sport to be rocked by allegations of corruption, this time by reports of match fixing. So who are the winners and losers when such allegations are made?Hans Westerbeek, Dean, College of Sport and Exercise Science and Institute of Sport, Exercise, Active Living, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/395522015-04-02T14:31:24Z2015-04-02T14:31:24ZThe big Good Friday football fix of 1915: Man Utd 2 – Liverpool 0<p>Of all English clubs, Liverpool and Manchester United have the biggest following around the world. Their fans revel in past glories but few know there is also a dark side to their club’s history: both were involved in the highest-level fix we know about in English football. It happened 100 years ago, on April 2 1915.</p>
<p>It was Good Friday. Then, as now, the Easter programme was crucial for settling issues such as which clubs were to be relegated. Liverpool was safe from the drop, despite having had a mediocre season (Everton won the League). But for Manchester United, the points at stake were vital to survival if it was to finish ahead of Chelsea and Tottenham at the bottom.</p>
<p>United got the points but not – it transpired later – fairly. Four Liverpool and three United players had agreed to manufacture a result of 2-0. They all bet on that exact score at 7-1 odds and worked determinedly to secure it, including missing a penalty.</p>
<p>The bookies were displeased. The players were found out, named and shamed. A subsequent inquiry gave them lifetime bans – and all but one of them then volunteered for the Western Front. The survivors were reinstated by football on their return in recognition of their war service. But the knowledge of their betrayal of sport could not be wiped away.</p>
<h2>Different types of fixing</h2>
<p>A century on, contemporary football is beset with fixing allegations. In the year to June, 2014, there were investigations in 70 countries as noted in a recent <a href="http://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319025810">Interpol sponsored book on sports integrity</a>.</p>
<p>Fixing can take many different forms. As with the Big Fix of 1915, the main motivation can be “sporting” (one of the clubs needed saving from relegation). Collusion by both sides in a sporting contest is most likely when, as in 1915, there is asymmetry in the rewards for the outcome. If winning matters only for one, it may be allowed to win as a favour or in return for reciprocating in future matches. This became notorious in sumo wrestling as studied by economists <a href="http://pricetheory.uchicago.edu/levitt/Papers/DugganLevitt2002.pdf">Duggan and Levitt</a>. </p>
<p>There may also be payment involved, such that one club buys a result from another – a practice compellingly exposed by <a href="http://declanhill.com/">Declan Hill</a> as routine in Russian football. And even if the initial purpose is sporting, there is often parallel betting activity. It seems that those with inside information that the event is to be fixed cannot resist (as with our footballers from 1915) winning some money. Where the manipulation involves an explicit payment, it may actually be planned to be funded by relevant bets. </p>
<p>Another key feature of the 1915 Big Fix was it being “home-made” – where the relevant bets were placed by the players themselves or their families. This sort of fix has never gone away. Fixes are relatively easy to detect in well-regulated and well-monitored betting environments such as France (and Britain) because the money is typically wagered in local betting outlets.</p>
<h2>Third parties and criminal involvement</h2>
<p>Very much harder to control is fixing where players are paid by third parties to manipulate matches so that syndicates can make betting gains. Although this sort of fix also has a long pedigree, things here have moved on to a higher level from 100 years ago. Football is now <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/12/soccer-match-fixing-scandal_n_2671282.html?">targeted by international criminals</a> whose operations are on an industrial scale, with betting in barely regulated markets far from where the match is taking place. Conspiracies are therefore hard to detect and many have come to light fortuitously as a result of police investigating other gang activities such as prostitution. </p>
<p>This was the case in the <a href="http://footballperspectives.org/corruption-football-match-fixers">Bochum trial</a>. The Bochum case was the first of several over the past five years to highlight the astonishing scale of contemporary match fixing. Criminals from Croatia, living in Germany, were found guilty of fixing more than 300 games in 12 European countries (plus Canada). </p>
<p>From evidence here and in later cases, we know something of how such rings operate. They use several methods to fix, including buying failing clubs and then transferring in their own corrupt players. But most commonly they pay defenders to concede goals because it is hard to detect whether their mistakes are deliberate. </p>
<p>Any level of football may be targeted but most often it is second-tier leagues where player wages are relatively low but large stakes can still be placed. Bets are normally on either the match result or the total number of goals (side bets such as on red cards do not feature as stakes that can be placed are too low). Almost invariably, those bets are in illegal markets.</p>
<h2>Asian appeal</h2>
<p>Match fixing is especially prevalent in Asia (and isn’t confined to football, as <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/cricket/article-2056073/Pakistan-trio-guilty-cricket-match-fixing.html">cricket fans will attest</a>). Unlike in Europe, where betting is more regulated, very large bets can be made and therefore large amounts won. In a report by <a href="http://www.iris-france.org/les-matchs-truqus-menacent-lintigrit-du-sport-mondial/">the French think tank, IRIS</a>, investigators reported that up to €300,000 could be staked on a match even at as modest a level as the Belgian second division. Also, betting is effectively anonymous in Asia, as there is minimal regulation and monitoring. </p>
<p>Betting is illegal in most of Asia but agents aggregate bets from a host of illegal street operators. Much of the money ends up in the legal market, with the largest bookmakers in the world – licensed in the Philippines. But by then the bets are hidden in large parcels and flows of funds cannot be traced to source. Huge enthusiasm for betting on European sport in Asia has provided the liquidity (or camouflage) in betting markets which allows large-scale fixing operations to make huge profits. The failure of Asian jurisdictions to provide for legal, regulated betting makes the market safe for criminals to exploit.</p>
<p>This all serves to make the 1915 Big Fix look like part of a cottage industry. Modern-day fixing poses a much stronger threat. And in England, threats extend even to the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-27885358">semi-professional game</a>, which has not escaped the attention of international criminals.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/39552/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Forrest does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The highest level fix in English football took place a century ago, but professional sport is still full of fixing allegations today.David Forrest, Professor of Economics, University of LiverpoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/287952014-07-04T11:49:01Z2014-07-04T11:49:01ZMedia focus on Africa for match-fixing is cause for concern
<p>An interesting media flip-flop took place this week. Cameroon went from being forced to <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/28102841">investigate match-fixing claims</a> made in German news magazine Der Spiegel to FIFA saying there was <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/28132691">no evidence of match-fixing</a> at any World Cup 2014 match the following day. </p>
<p>But these were not the first reports of this World Cup – immediately before and during the tournament, several African teams have been caught up in claims which remind us about the dangers of media framing. This is a reference to how the mass media reports news stories based on predetermined stereotypes. </p>
<p>Recent media reports on match fixing have largely focused on African teams and they have their genesis from the Western mass media. They also fit research into the problematic way that the media frames certain stories, in this case stories of Africa, particularly <a href="http://sotomo-ve.geo.uzh.ch/sotomo/pps/lit/entman_93.pdf">Robert Emtman’s influential work</a>.</p>
<p>Africa has had its share of malfeasance going back to 1974 when then Zaire’s Mafu Kibonge claimed that his country and Brazil had arranged for a 3-0 score in a World Cup game to meet mutual benefits. At the time, Brazil needed at least three goals to qualify from the group ahead of Scotland and Zaire needed to lose by no more than three goals to avoid punishment from Mobutu’s government. But match-fixing has been a scourge to the game in all parts of the World including the most popular leagues in Europe. </p>
<h2>African focus</h2>
<p>Nigeria’s international friendly against Scotland in May was <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27596127">widely covered</a> in the global media as being monitored for match fixing. Then <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/investigations/10943224/Ghana-match-fixing-two-men-arrested.html">Ghana</a> was cited as being involved in match fixing and finally Cameroon was accused of fixing their last group game.</p>
<p>Considering match-fixing has been a significant problem outside of Africa, it is interesting that there are few reports of investigations or monitoring in other countries. Perumal – who was at the centre of Der Spiegel’s claims – was convicted for fixing games in many countries outside of African and there are many other examples of match fixing. A look at media framing gives us some insight into why Africa may be getting undue focus. </p>
<p>The Nigerian and Ghana case were particularly interesting since they involved Western media sting operations that raised several questions. First, why were African teams targeted for stings when the scourge was in fact a global concern? It raised questions similar to how Western media <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27652181">targeted African FIFA executives</a> concerning bribery, surrounding the 2018 World Cup bid. While they did produce evidence of corruption involving FIFA executives, the current match-fixing stings have yet to produce any convincing evidence. However, the fact that these operations are strictly designed by Western media and have seemingly focused on African teams raises concern.</p>
<p>In the Nigerian case, an undercover reporter for The Sun in the UK was the centre of a media sting that caught a Nigerian football agent who claimed that he could arrange yellow cards and fix games at the World Cup. The player mentioned by the agent, Ogenyi Onazi, denies the allegation and, to date, there is not yet any public evidence strongly associating Nigerian football officials to the rogue agent.</p>
<p>In the Ghana case, again The Telegraph newspaper and Channel 4 in the UK carried out an undercover investigation of Ghana’s FA. They reported that they had agreed for the national team to play in matches that other people were preparing to fix. Two men, set up by The Telegraph, were subsequently arrested for attempting to co-opt the Ghana FA in agreeing to fixable games.</p>
<p>Cameroon became the third African team mentioned in possible match fixing. After a flurry of accusations, Der Spiegel has now been asked by FIFA to prove its claims, as there is so far no evidence for them.</p>
<h2>Dangers ahead</h2>
<p>While it is commendable that the media is at the vanguard of fighting match fixing, it remains unexplained why the Western media focuses on African teams in the way that it does. Why are there no stories of stings targeting European teams when they have experienced a great deal of match fixing in the past? </p>
<p>The current trajectory of investigations has a worrying alignment with how the Western media frames Africa in general. Reporting on Africa often <a href="http://africanarguments.org/2013/02/26/framing-news-in-africa-%E2%80%93-how-journalists-approach-stories-and-reinforce-stereotypes-%E2%80%93-by-keith-somerville/">uses stereotypes</a> that reinforce how it is not like “us”, and a place where the worst is possible. Examples of Africa being portrayed in this light then become a goal or focus of reporting, even if history tells us otherwise (as with match fixing).</p>
<p>Thus, media framing is dangerous, not just for portraying countries or regions inaccurately. Cameroon for example is now investigating the match-fixing claims – and it is not inconceivable that they may be used to settle scores with those perceived as contributing to the team’s poor display at the World Cup. </p>
<p>Furthermore, there is a danger of focusing on one continent through framing, as global monitoring of match fixing globally may suffer as a result. FIFA and betting regulators must be vigilant that these undercover activities do not turn away their attention from other regions. They owe the world a focus on stamping out corruption and match fixing wherever they may occur around the world.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/28795/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
An interesting media flip-flop took place this week. Cameroon went from being forced to investigate match-fixing claims made in German news magazine Der Spiegel to FIFA saying there was no evidence of…Chuka Onwumechili, Professor of Communications, Howard UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/211952013-12-16T14:19:43Z2013-12-16T14:19:43ZCrime agency scores on match fixing but needs backing in drugs fight<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/37873/original/cnnwkwgt-1387189634.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Don't smile – you're on cops' camera.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jonathan Brady/PA Archive</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It was a big scalp for the NCA: former premier league footballer <a href="http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11688/9065140/blackburn-striker-dj-campbell-arrested-in-connection-with-match-fixing-probe">DJ Campbell arrested</a> as part of a probe into alleged spot-fixing in English football by the National Crime Agency. Campbell’s arrest was one of six by the freshly minted crime agency after an investigation and a sting operation by the Sun on Sunday.</p>
<p>It’s the first high-profile operation for the newly operational <a href="http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/">NCA</a> – frequently referred to as the “British FBI” – but the agency has already put runs on the board with a number of results, including the <a href="http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/news/276-three-men-linked-to-heroin-supply-network-jailed">break-up of a drugs ring</a> involved in supplying heroin to Birmingham and Bristol.</p>
<p>The NCA’s Bristol Branch Commander Peter Smith said of the operation that the agency had “worked closely with a number of police forces … That co-operation has so far led to the conviction of thirteen individuals linked to this crime group. Working with our law enforcement colleagues we are determined to tackle the organised crime groups responsible for bringing illegal drugs onto our streets and devastating our communities”.</p>
<h2>Political football</h2>
<p>Far more prominent, for obvious reasons, has been the match-fixing operation which has commanded space <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/dec/10/culture-secretary-maria-miller-match-fixing-sport">in the national press</a> and television. </p>
<p>The reports offered good publicity to the NCA, demonstrating the local, regional, national and international reach of the newly operational agency as it seeks to deliver on its “four pillars” commitment as announced on its <a href="http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/about-us/what-we-do/organised-crime-command">website</a>:</p>
<ul>
<li>Pursue – prosecute and disrupt people engaged in serious and organised crime;</li>
<li>Prevent – prevent people from becoming involved in serious and organised crime;</li>
<li>Protect – increase protection against serious and organised crime;</li>
<li>Prepare – reduce the impact of serious and organised crime where it takes place.</li>
</ul>
<p>And the appearance at court on Friday of four people facing allegations of involvement in corrupt practices in British football is good publicity for the agency, offering cause for optimism, on this front at least, about the policing of organised crime in Britain. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/37872/original/4mn7q2zm-1387189567.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/37872/original/4mn7q2zm-1387189567.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=851&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/37872/original/4mn7q2zm-1387189567.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=851&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/37872/original/4mn7q2zm-1387189567.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=851&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/37872/original/4mn7q2zm-1387189567.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1069&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/37872/original/4mn7q2zm-1387189567.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1069&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/37872/original/4mn7q2zm-1387189567.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1069&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Facing charges: DJ Campbell.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dave Thompson/PA Wire</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But for all the early success, there is an obvious need for policy improvement. As <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/10480284/Football-match-fixing-the-problem-is-endemic-in-the-game.html">The Daily Telegraph</a> reported, the government could already have done something about corruption in sports betting, but has so far chosen not to. Tim Lamb, chief executive of the Sport and Recreation Alliance, <a href="http://www.sportandrecreation.org.uk/news/29-11-2013/alliance-chief-executive-%E2%80%9Cwe-can-tackle-match-fixing-we-need-act-now%E2%80%9D">has called for</a> “an appropriate, clear and comprehensive legal and regulatory framework to tackle the match-fixing problem”. He added that compared to anti-doping measures which receive £6m in funding, anti-match fixing receives nothing.</p>
<p>It should be clear to our political servants that there is an urgent need for an integrity unit to be set up to monitor betting activity. This unit would at the very least be able to spot such obvious indications as people placing large bets on matches watched by just a handful of hardy supporters in the lower leagues. The mere existence of such a unit would deter all but the most sophisticated operations – and would make life much easier for the NCA.</p>
<h2>Law enforcement’s Sisyphean task</h2>
<p>But the NCA’s most thankless law enforcement task is to combat organised drug rings. Police officers at all levels in this country are far better trained and more professional than they have ever been, but policy makers have given them a task that can only be compared to that of the <a href="http://www.mythweb.com/encyc/entries/sisyphus.html">mythological Sisyphus</a>, who was condemned to repeat forever the task of pushing a rock up a mountain – only to see it roll down again. </p>
<p>Here’s how it works at present: law enforcement agencies investigate and make cases against drug traffickers, the prosecutors secure convictions, and some of those involved go to prison. Meanwhile the availability of illegal drugs is not affected one jot, largely because of the law of supply and demand: there is too much easy money to be made, and putting drug traffickers in prison simply allows them to share their expertise and contacts with those who are on their way out of prison. </p>
<p>Policy makers usually take the easy option of chiding police when individual or collective shortcomings are revealed in the losing battle to control organised crime. They should, however, begin to think through the problems associated with organised crime and then address them in a more informed and rational way than currently exists.</p>
<p>On the match-fixing issue, they can act rationally and at little public expense can make a difference. On drug control policy, however, they pretend that they can’t do anything other than ask police to push rocks up mountains. They are probably aware, at some level, of the impossible task they are telling police to undertake on drug law enforcement. But, by continuing to do so, they continue to undermine the “<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/libertycentral/2010/dec/10/water-cannon-tear-gas-violent-disorder">policing by consent</a>” paradigm that once made British policing a model for the rest of the world.</p>
<p>Sadly, our diplomats carelessly signed up to the United Nations <a href="http://www.unodc.org/pdf/convention_1988_en.pdf">Convention against the Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs</a> in 1988. Since then, we have become ever more enmeshed in networks of international alliances and commitments and obligations, all mutually reinforcing, which almost completely paralyse drug law enforcement in this country and elsewhere. </p>
<p>It’s all very well having a British FBI, and it is rightly applauded when investigations bring in scalps. But without political support and realistic policy targets, particularly when it comes to illegal drugs, it is doomed to fail. It’s time we gave our cops a chance.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/21195/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Woodiwiss does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It was a big scalp for the NCA: former premier league footballer DJ Campbell arrested as part of a probe into alleged spot-fixing in English football by the National Crime Agency. Campbell’s arrest was…Michael Woodiwiss, Senior Lecturer in American History, University of the West of EnglandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/182362013-09-17T20:43:33Z2013-09-17T20:43:33ZFalling Stars: Australian soccer scandal shines bright<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/31393/original/bx3k8c36-1379323621.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Victorian soccer club Southern Stars has been caught up in the biggest match-fixing scandal to hit Australian sport. What can be done to prevent further instances of corruption?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">ABC News</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Since taking over as chief executive of the Football Federation Australia (FFA), Australian soccer’s governing body, David Gallop would have “sold his arse” (to paraphrase <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/national/the-day-abbott-bared-his-soul-20110827-1jfgv.html">Tony Abbott</a>) to have the sport on the front pages of the major Australian daily newspapers. However, it seems that this type of publicity might be the exception rather than the rule of the old adage.</p>
<p>As the FFA sweats over the depth of the <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/sport/soccer/victorian-detectives-bust-alleged-soccer-matchfixing-syndicate-20130915-2tsh5.html">match-fixing scandal</a> at the newly-promoted Southern Stars FC in the Victorian Premier League (VPL), they can at least bask in the unexpected international limelight. Ten people were arrested and six men, including the club’s coach and goalkeeper, have so far been charged with various offences relating to the match-fixing ring. Club officials, meanwhile, have <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-16/southern-stars-football-club-denies-involvement-in-accusations-/4960572">denied</a> any knowledge of the wrongdoing.</p>
<p>So, at last, Australian soccer is recognised around the world - not for the quality, but for an unprecedented (at least in Australia) match-fixing scandal.</p>
<h2>Infamy shines on Southern Stars</h2>
<p>Southern Stars are currently bottom of the <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/sport/soccer/victorian-premier-league-small-crowds-small-pay-no-glamour-20130916-2ttfm.html">Victorian Premier League</a>, with only one win under their belt. Incredibly, this came against Northcote, the league leaders. Their ladder position might not be particularly unusual for a team entering the next tier, whatever the sport. But on this occasion, Southern Stars had signed several experienced journeymen pros from overseas, a number of whom have been reportedly linked to the scandal.</p>
<p>The photo below from the club’s website was taken at lunchtime on September 16. It is clear that having the Sportingbet logo beside the team’s name was either ironic or startlingly prophetic.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/31371/original/sypmkmsj-1379297393.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/31371/original/sypmkmsj-1379297393.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/31371/original/sypmkmsj-1379297393.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=252&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/31371/original/sypmkmsj-1379297393.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=252&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/31371/original/sypmkmsj-1379297393.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=252&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/31371/original/sypmkmsj-1379297393.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/31371/original/sypmkmsj-1379297393.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/31371/original/sypmkmsj-1379297393.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Southern Stars FC website.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the message to fans (below), Southern Stars wanted to announce their arrival into the VPL. Again, more irony, when they put “fair game” in inverted commas. The main aim was to play fair, but now the club has become fair game for the international media, Victoria Police and the FFA. The message also adds “we will add colour and vibe to the premier league”.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/31374/original/cyycjjww-1379298832.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/31374/original/cyycjjww-1379298832.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=162&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/31374/original/cyycjjww-1379298832.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=162&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/31374/original/cyycjjww-1379298832.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=162&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/31374/original/cyycjjww-1379298832.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=204&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/31374/original/cyycjjww-1379298832.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=204&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/31374/original/cyycjjww-1379298832.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=204&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Talking a Good Game?</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Fixing a match</h2>
<p>As a former soccer referee I have been accused of many things including questionable parentage, having changed my sexuality, and being a “cheat”. </p>
<p>Any referee can let the the first two taunts spin off his or her back, but being called a cheat goes right to the core of what you are trying to do. It is the same for players - being accused of diving or faking an injury can hit you harder than a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkWZyX8lmVU">Kevin Muscat tackle</a>. Anyone involved in soccer can take a bribe and attempt to throw a match in some way. </p>
<p>There are <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/bungs-and-bribes-football-cant-kick-this-habit-1611274.html">plenty of examples</a> of this. In the 1990s, Liverpool goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar faced trial for match-fixing but was found not guilty. Watching clips of some of the “saves” he was accused of not making is the same as watching clips now. To prove beyond doubt that a player is deliberately throwing a match can be difficult - at least in a court of law.</p>
<h2>Best fix</h2>
<p>If you were wanting to definitively fix matches the optimum position would be to have both teams involved, which seemed to happen in two promotion deciders being played simultaneously <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23412227">in Nigeria</a> earlier this year.</p>
<p>With the matches finishing at 67-0 and 79-0 respectively it looked suspicious. In the case of having both teams involved in match-fixing this gives you greater control in influencing the outcome.</p>
<p>Having a good number of players in your team involved means that you have effective control over two essential parts of the game - not scoring, and deliberately losing goals. This could be the angle that the accused Southern Stars players took, in that you can’t cheat and score lots of goals (presuming the other team are fair dinkum) as there is the variable of the other team trying to stop you. </p>
<p>The influence lies in being able to not try to score, and then letting “soft” goals in at a time of your choosing.</p>
<h2>International betting … on the VPL?</h2>
<p>In this particularly sad situation for the VPL and FFA - not to mention Australian sport - it seems that the international betting syndicates have influenced and targeted a provincial competition. Being able to bet on virtually anything from anywhere means that the arms of temptation have a long reach. </p>
<p>It would be scandalous if we find out that some of these new overseas players were invited to Southern Stars as part of a premeditated plan to throw matches, as has been <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/sport/soccer/a-beautiful-lucrative-game-for-the-fixers-20130916-2tv7c.html">suggested</a>. These are the questions which may prove very interesting when the court case eventually comes around.</p>
<h2>Early warning system</h2>
<p>What is clear from this betting scandal is that it must have been apparent within the club - at least to some extent. With ten arrests and six people charged so far, it is not stretching the truth to suggest that others outside the ring may have been aware of it.</p>
<p>Players who are substitutes or on the fringes and not getting called up could have had some idea that there was foul play. Players know when other players are not trying. It might be harder for other teams to notice as they are only playing them once and therefore cannot judge as well.</p>
<h2>Anonymous reporting</h2>
<p>Of course, this is an isolated incident in Australia - at least <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-16/police-charge-six-men-in-australian-soccer-match-fixing-probe.html">according to the FFA</a>.</p>
<p>However, as with any major scandal, questions must be asked as to whether this could have been dealt with at an earlier stage. If a Sports Integrity Commissioner existed for every code, it may go some way to the creation of an early warning system. Any player, club official or match official - amongst others - should be able to report this anonymously to the commissioner, who would have powers of investigation. </p>
<p>Having this type of post within - but independent of - the governing body will assist with greater accountability and ensure a stricter enforcement of the sport’s ethical codes.</p>
<p>This is a dark day for soccer in this country, but the FFA should take a reasonable amount of credit for dealing with this in an upfront way.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/18236/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Boyle is a former referee with experience in the Scottish Premier League and the A-League.</span></em></p>Since taking over as chief executive of the Football Federation Australia (FFA), Australian soccer’s governing body, David Gallop would have “sold his arse” (to paraphrase Tony Abbott) to have the sport…Christopher Boyle, Senior Lecturer in Psychology , Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/120992013-02-11T19:21:34Z2013-02-11T19:21:34ZDoping, gambling and sport: integrity begins at home<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/20123/original/dpmb59mw-1360553355.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In sports-loving Australia, damaging its integrity ultimately undermines supporter confidence and enjoyment.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Rob Cox</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Australian Crime Commission’s <a href="http://www.crimecommission.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/organised-crime-and-drugs-in-sports-feb2013.pdf">report</a> on organised crime and drugs in sport has unleashed a storm amongst sports fans, particularly those who follow the clubs or codes so far implicated. Use of new performing and image enhancing drugs (PEIDs) is now thought to be widespread, with clear links to organised criminal activity including match fixing.</p>
<p>The main focus of all this concern has so far been on the integrity of sport: that is, concern that sports will be corrupted, either by drug cheating, or by otherwise compromising athletes or administrators or both in order to defraud bookmakers. The scramble to understand and come to terms with the depth of the PEID problem suggests sports bodies have less than perfect knowledge about what’s really going on.</p>
<p>In Australia, where sport is widely, fervently and passionately embraced, damage to the integrity of sport also damages public confidence and undermines supporter enjoyment. It poses significant financial risks, to the viability of sports identified as at risk from doping or match-fixing, to the continued participation of sportspeople caught doping or acting corruptly, and (as the ACC notes) to the integrity of sports betting operations.</p>
<p>The last of these has been a focus for much integrity-related activity in major professional codes in Australia in recent years, as the amount gambled on professional sport has increased. The sports betting market (as distinct from the more established horse racing gambling market) has grown rapidly since the mid-2000s and is now estimated at around $300 million to $400 million per year. This is a lot of money, but it’s still a modest proportion of Australia’s $20 billion gambling market. Nonetheless, it’s a high profile business: sporting clubs have been quick to take up sponsorship and advertising deals with bookmakers, and commercial media is saturated with gambling advertising.</p>
<p>So far, codes like the NRL, AFL and cricket have argued that being in partnership with (that is, getting a cut from) betting agencies is the best way to keep up with integrity issues. Being in close company with bookies, we’re told, allows data on betting to be shared and for suspicious transactions to be carefully analysed, identifying those who benefit from unusual or suspicious activity.</p>
<p>The clubs say that this has flushed out inappropriate activity, although most of those caught this way have so far been small fish. However, the data could just as easily be obtained by regulation. Codes don’t need to be in bed with bookies. In fact, deriving financial returns from the proceeds of gambling may blind administrators to the dangers gambling poses for their sport.</p>
<p>But more broadly, and I think more significantly, the integrity of sport is also damaged by the harm that unrestrained promotion of gambling is likely to do to supporters of the game. Advertising and sponsorship are not altruistic activities. Bookies advertise and sponsor teams for a number of reasons: obviously to encourage people to gamble, but – just as the ACC report notes in relation to criminals, and as we know from tobacco and alcohol sponsorship deals - bookies also want to legitimate themselves and their product through association with famous and well-regarded teams and individuals.</p>
<p>The effects of the explosion in sports betting, and on its aggressive promotion, are largely unknown, particularly on those young fans who have grown up with the odds plastered everywhere. However, we do know that exposure to gambling opportunities is a key risk factor for the development of gambling problems (which is why the pokies, ubiquitous as they are in Australia, are the current source of 75% or more of Australia’s gambling problems). We can expect to find more and more problem gamblers amongst sports gamblers in coming years, as the new generation deals with the convergence of mobile and other interactive gambling technologies, the ubiquitous promotion of gambling, and clubs and codes happily allowing their brand to be a billboard for one or other of the many online bookies.</p>
<p>There have been <a href="http://www.smartcompany.com.au/leisure-and-gaming/054080-xenophon-calls-for-suspension-of-sports-gambling-industry.html">calls</a> to ban sportsbetting until we better understand the problems it causes. Making it illegal won’t stop it (especially that aspect of it occurring offshore) but it would remove any doubts as to the wisdom of sportspeople being connected with bookies. Perhaps more practical would be to prohibit the advertising and promotion of gambling via sport. As <a href="https://theconversation.com/sports-betting-and-children-12114">Andrew Whitehouse points out</a>, kids now see gambling as integral to sport. One way to defuse the ticking time bomb is to alter that by delinking sport from gambling.</p>
<p>It would also demonstrate that clubs had the integrity to care more about their supporter base than the dollars they make by taking a cut from the bookies. Any sport that steps away from the pursuit of gambling revenue and helps to stop its supporters being subject to constant bombardment from bookmakers will go a long way towards demonstrating real integrity, and genuine respect for its supporters.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/12099/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charles Livingstone has received funding from VicHealth to research links between gambling and sport in Victoria.</span></em></p>The Australian Crime Commission’s report on organised crime and drugs in sport has unleashed a storm amongst sports fans, particularly those who follow the clubs or codes so far implicated. Use of new…Charles Livingstone, Senior Lecturer, Global Health and Society, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.