Match Fixers are Often Victims & Efforts Must Prosecute Corrupters, Panel Tells House of Lords

The UK House of Lords held another meeting today on the merits of ratifying the Macolin Convention. The International Agreements Committee again heard how ratifying the convention is necessary to fight the international problem of match-fixing.

Karen Moorhouse, CEO of the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), told the committee how tennis players found guilty of match-fixing are often victims of crime themselves.

“They have been corrupted by someone who’s preyed on their vulnerability to get them to corrupt something in a sports event,” Moorhouse said.

True Criminals Use Players, Then Move On

“Corrupters are good at what they do,” Moorhouse added. “They go to great lengths to avoid detection, in terms of where they’re putting the money on, but also how they’re recruiting and training players to avoid that detection.”

While the ITIA has punished players found to be manipulating their performances for betting purposes, it is difficult for sporting groups to prosecute the true perpetrators of match-fixing.

As a result, the problem of match-fixing continues as criminal groups move on to the next player they can corrupt.

“We can keep taking action against players, but once they’re identified, removed from the sport, the corrupter will just move on to the next player. So, we need to work together to make sure we’re actually dealing with the root cause, rather than just someone within that chain.”

Criminal Prosecutions Rare in UK

Nigel Mawer, Co-Chair of the Sports Betting Integrity Forum, supported Moorhouse’s view. He said that sporting groups have limited capacity to tackle match-fixing at its root and to prosecute the perpetrators.

“One of the big problems is that we’re heavily reliant on sports governing bodies to deliver investigations and processes to manage this particular problem,” Mawer told the committee on Tuesday. “I think it’s generally accepted that criminal prosecutions in this area are very rare in the UK.”

Widesweeping investigations in the US are now leading to criminal charges being filed against not only the athletes, but the groups behind the match-fixing.

In smaller European countries, more coordinated international responses are necessary to target criminal groups, the panel said.

Ratifying Macolin Convention Can Speed Up Shared Responses

UK Gambling Commission Director of Enforcement & Intelligence John Pierce advocated ratifying the Macolin Convention to speed up the sharing of data that leads to the prosecution of match-fixers.

“In my view, by joining the treaty, we’re going to increase the speed. I think that’s where it’s going to be really important. In countries that are fully ratified, there’s a massive opportunity to actually share things on a much faster basis,” Pierce stated.

Moorhouse and Mawer similarly recommended that politicians in the UK move to fully ratify the treaty. This echoed last week’s testimony of Moses Swaibu and Professor Madolina Diaconu. Swaibu is a former soccer player who was previously convicted of match-fixing and is the CEO of GameChanger360, an organization now fighting corruption in sports.

Other Countries Need to Help Tackle Corruption

The UK is signed up to the Macolin Convention, an international treaty on tackling corruption in sports, but has not fully incorporated it into its laws.

A further 43 European nations have signed the treaty, as have Australia, Brazil, and Morocco. However, there has been reluctance to fully ratify it and to commit resources to fighting sports corruption.

The panel noted how Malta has said it will not ratify the treaty as the country, home to many licensed gambling companies, is “concerned that their current licensees would find themselves out in the wild.”

Professor Diaconu said it would be improved if the treaty were recognized by the United Nations, which could attract more worldwide attention. Moorhouse similarly said that “wider ratification should strengthen the international network” of fighting corruption, which should “help in terms of dealing with what is at its core an international issue.”

Lord David Hannay on the panel said, however, that “the chances of the present US administration allowing the UN to legislate in this are close to zero”.

Black Market Bets Difficult to Track

The panel similarly bemoaned the difficulty in creating real change when so much of the corruption occurs among Asian criminal groups and on Asian illegal gambling sites.

Pierce emphasized the need to concentrate gambling at regulated, licensed operators, as when it moves to the black market, it is difficult to track. Similarly, if individuals place cash wagers at betting shops, those bets can be more problematic than those on registered online platforms.

“Our first line of defense is a regulated operator,” Pierce stated before adding that the work on tackling the black market is vitally important. The UK has recently introduced financial risk assessments, which critics say will drive gamblers to black market sites.

The committee will compile the evidence into a report, which the House may then discuss before deciding whether to fully ratify the treaty.