INTERPOL Integrity in Sport Bi-Weekly Bulletin - 12- 25 December 2017
This month, Slovenian Police, supported by the Croatian Police and Europol, have dismantled an international crime syndicate involved in sports corruption and illegal betting. Police made 11 arrests after 13 house and 15 vehicle searches in Slovenia and Croatia.
A number of sport related investigations in Australia, Belgium and Kenya came to light the past two weeks. The first is that Cricket Australia announced to work closely with the International Cricket Council’s anti-corruption unit as The Sun newspaper published evidence of bookmakers offering to sell details of rigged periods of play for betting purposes. Another case in Australia shows that a Shelbourne harness racing trainer has pleaded guilty to his role in fixing three races in country Victoria in 2014. In another development, Former Olympic champion cyclist Alexander Vinokourov is to face trial for corruption in Belgium over allegations he paid a rival to let him win a major race. Additionally, there are also allegations on match-fixing in Kenyan Boxing and tampering with the computer scoring system.
When it comes to sanctions, Polish tennis player Piotr Gadomski has received a further suspension after attending a tennis tournament though he was under suspension. This breach was considered new and an additional corruption offence, and therefore the original seven-year ban will be extended by a further period of 18 months.
With regards to legislation, we continue to follow with keen interest the recent developments and debates in India on the legalization of sports betting and gambling. We are glad to note that Latvia became the 29th Council of Europe member State having signed the Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions (“Macolin Convention”).
In terms of good practices, the International Partnership against Corruption in Sport (IPACS) established multi-stakeholder taskforces to tackle major challenges to sports integrity. Each taskforce is aimed at developing specific initiatives such as pilot projects and reporting back to the IPACS working group during its next meeting scheduled for June 2018 at the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) headquarters.
Furthermore, the International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) launched a dedicated whistleblower hotline for the United States and Canada where athletes, sports execs and members of the public can report misconduct. Moreover, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) partnered with Sportradar to safeguard table tennis against match-fixing.
lier this December, the Global Lottery Monitoring System for sports betting (GLMS) announced the acquisition of an analytical tool that has customizable functionalities to prevent, detect, and manage all possible irregular and suspicious betting patterns. The TXODDS-powered GLMS system will ensure high efficiency in monitoring of betting patterns. Additionally, GLMS announced the launch of a new operational hub in Hong Kong which makes GLMS the only monitoring system with true global operations.
Significantly, the Network of National Platforms which was set up to fight against the manipulation of sports competitions has approved the features of its surveillance and alert tools. This system will be used as part of a cooperation exercise with the International Olympic Committee during the Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang in February 2018.
With the need for an effective, coordinated response to counter the threat of competition manipulation and related corruption in the sports world, INTERPOL’s Anti-Corruption unit and the International Olympic Committee, in cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Police General Headquarters, organized an Integrity in Sport National Workshop which gathered some 40 participants from law enforcement, the UAE National Olympic Committee, national sport federations and public authorities. The Abu Dhabi workshop aimed to identify key stakeholders for the development of a coordinated national approach in the UAE that protects the integrity of sport and facilitates the national and international cooperation necessary for preventing and investigating competition manipulation.
INVESTIGATIONS
Australia
3rd Ashes test hit by reports of match-fixing, ICC to probe
Perth, Australia — Cricket Australia says it will cooperate with the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption unit investigation into a British newspaper report that bookmakers have offered to fix parts of the third Ashes test between Australia and England that begins Thursday in Perth.
The Sun newspaper in Britain published purported evidence of bookmakers offering to sell details of rigged periods of play for betting purposes, so-called spot fixing.
"Before match, I will tell you this over, this runs and then you have to put all the bets on that over," a man, who the newspaper claims is a bookmaker, says in undercover video footage.
During the video, information on fixes are heard to be worth around $150,000.
There is also mention of fixing "four to five" Big Bash League matches in the Australian Twenty20 domestic competition.
The ICC said "we take all allegations of corruption seriously and welcome The Sun's offer to share this information."
Cricket Australia said the allegations "are of serious concern. Cricket Australia takes a zero-tolerance approach against anybody trying to bring the game into disrepute (and we) will co-operate fully with any ICC anti-corruption unit investigation." Australia leads the five-match series 2-0.
Source: Associated Press, 13 December 2017, MSN
Cricket
Australia
Shelbourne harness racing trainer pleads guilty to role in fixing three country Victorian races
A SHELBOURNE harness racing trainer has pleaded guilty to his role in fixing three races in country Victoria in 2014, two of which involved his own horses.
Larry Eastman, 60, pleaded guilty in the Bendigo Magistrates’ Court on Thursday to five charges including use of corrupt conduct information for betting purposes, and engaging in conduct to corrupt a betting outcome.
The court heard Eastman had nasogastric intubation – known as “stomach tubing” or “drenching” – administered to two of his horses within 48 hours of race meets, and knew of a third horse that was illegally receiving the technique.
The technique is illegal within 48 hours of races as it can enhance performance through improved rehydration. It involves placing a tube down the throat of the horse and adding a mixture of alkalising agents, sodiums and bicarbonate.
Eastman then encouraged others to bet on the races on his behalf, knowing that the horses had this advantage.
His horse Cashiking was administered stomach tubing before race 7 at Nyah at Swan Hill on December 2, 2014. Eastman administered stomach tubing to another of his horses, Waterslide, for race 5 at Charlton on December 8, 2014. Eastman then had the driver inject the horse with potassium a short time after the race to conceal the effects of stomach tubing from Harness Racing Victoria authorities. Eastman personally gained $400 from betting $200 on the three-to-one result. Eastman also knew that horse Dynamite Dick had been administered stomach tubing before race 5 at Horsham on December 15, 2014. He had two other men bet on his behalf.
Eastman came to the attention of police during their investigation into Shayne and Greg Cramp, of Mildura, who were later sentenced in relation to race fixing offences. Police intercepted a phone call between Eastman and one of the men, and suspected Eastman was also involved in “corrupt conduct”.
The practice of stomach tubing, or drenching, has been the subject of “strict controls” for racing worldwide. Defence counsel Robert Timms said Eastman’s offending was small compared to others in the harness racing industry. “My client, as part of the plea, was a small fish in a much bigger pond,” he said. “The co-accused in Mildura were involved in far more.” Mr Timms said he would be asking the court to sentence Eastman to a community corrections order, or a fine.
Eastman will be sentenced in the Bendigo Magistrates’ Court on February 2.
Source: Adam Holmes, 21 December 2017, Bendigo Advertiser
Belgium
Vinokourov to face corruption trial
Brussels: Former Olympic champion cyclist Alexander Vinokourov is to face trial for corruption in Belgium over allegations he paid a rival to let him win a major race. The 44-year-old Kazakh, who won Olympic road race gold in London in 2012 having served a two-year doping ban from 2007-09, is accused of having paid Russian Alexander Kolobnev 150,000 euros ($178,000) to let him win the 2010 Liege-Bastogne-Liege prestigious one-day classic.
He will stand trial in Liege on March 13, 2018, the Belgian public prosecutor said on Tuesday. Kolobnev will also stand trial.
The two riders are accused of having come to an agreement to let Vinokourov win the Liege race in April 2010 after they had broken clear of the pack and looked set to contest the victory. The investigation is based on emails between the pair and two bank transfers -- one of 100,000 euros and the other for 50,000 euros, in July and December 2010.
At the time, the two rode for rival teams -- Vinokourov for Kazakhs Astana, where he is the current general manager, and Kolobnev for Katusha of Russia. It is an open secret in professional cycling that occasionally riders have down the years paid rivals to let them win particular races.
Source: 20 December 2017, The Times of India
Cycling
Kenya
Police in danger: Chafua Chafua could lose league title once AIBA investigation into match fixing claims are complete
Multiple league champions Kenya Police could lose the 2017 National League title once investigations into computer scoring tampering are complete.
Following allegations of match fixing at the close of the season ender in Kongowea, Mombasa, Boxing Association of Kenya president John Kameta promised to mitigate the never ending “culture of impunity”.
“After bringing in independent IT experts to scrutinise BAK scoring computers, I can assure you that investigations are at an advanced stage. Let me say at this juncture that we will surely get to bottom of the match-fixing allegations and biased officiating during the fifth and final leg of the National Boxing league in Kongowea. What happened in Kongowea will set a precedence for a clean sport in boxing and there is no gainsaying that heads will surely roll,” said Kameta.
Allegations of biased officiating cropped up during the semi-finals of the season ender, where some boxers from Kenya Defence Forces and Nairobi were believed to have been unfairly denied victory, handing their rivals an advantage.
What this means is that Police team better known as ‘Chafua Chafua’ will have to cool their heels and will know their fate on “boxing day”.
“We will surely make a drastic decision once AIBA investigations into computer scoring tampering are done. And we shall make an official announcement on boxing day to shed light on the fiasco but this verdict could indeed affect the final standings on the 2017 boxing log,” averred.
Kenya Police’s ‘Chafua Chafua’ retained the league title with 103 points, beating perennial rivals Kenya Defence Forces by a point at Uwanja wa Mbuzi grounds in Kongowea, an occurrence which didn’t go down well with some teams.
Kameta, however, confirmed that the local investigations are complete and they have indeeded detected tampering of our computer scoring system.
A new scoring system used during the Olympic boxing competition in Rio de Janeiro also drew favourable reviews after replacing the previous system that generated outrage around the world.
Nairobi coach Musa Benjamin was left to rue the trend, adding that if allegations into match fixing go unabated, it would set a very bad precedence.
“What happened in Mombasa was disgusting. I hope the investigations will create room for a clean sport which we all adore,” said Musa, a former Kenya junior team coach, adding: “ From my experience in boxing, I can confidently say there was cheating but we will wait and see what the report from AIBA will reveal.”
Source: Samson Ateka, 21 December 2017, The Star
Boxing
https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2017/12/21/police-in-danger_c1688105
SENTENCES/SANCTIONS
Tennis Integrity Unit
Piotr Gadomski disciplined for breach of seven year corruption ban
Polish tennis player Piotr Gadomski has received an 18 months suspension after he was found to have breached the terms of an existing ban for corruption offences*.
Mr Gadomski admitted to attending the Wimbledon qualifying competition at the Roehampton sports ground in south west London in June 2016.
By doing so he violated the terms associated with an earlier seven year suspension imposed in September 2015, that prohibit him from attending any professional tennis event organised or sanctioned by the governing bodies of the sport.
This breach is a new and additional corruption offence that was investigated by the Tennis Integrity Unit and considered by independent Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer Professor Richard H McLaren.
His decision extends the original seven-year ban by a further period of 18 months. However, it is suspended provided that no further breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program take place during the remainder of the original suspension, or the subsequent period of 18 months.
Mr Gadomski, now 26, reached a career-high singles ranking of 338 in April 2014.
Professor McLaren’s full decision in this case will be published in due course on the TIU website (www.tennisintegrityunit.com).
The Tennis Integrity Unit is an initiative of the Grand Slam Board, the International Tennis Federation, the ATP and the WTA, who are jointly committed to a zero tolerance approach to all forms of betting-related corruption in tennis.
Source: 19 December 2017, Tennis Integrity Unit
Tennis
LEGISLATION
India
Law panel bats for legalising sports betting and gambling
New Delhi: The Law Commission is set to recommend legalising betting in sports and gambling. The commission will soon submit its report, a draft copy of which has been accessed by The Sunday Standard, to the government and the Supreme Court.
The panel is of the opinion that lawful but strict regulation of gambling and betting would help curb illegal practices that generate black money. It would also shore up revenues of the government and generate employment.
“If it is not possible to prevent such activities completely, strictly regulating these activities remains the only viable option. Regulated gambling would ensure detection of fraud and money laundering,” says the report.
In the commission’s estimate, unregulated gambling and betting currently generates about `13,000 crore. This is a major source of black-money and this untraceable money is often used for funding terrorist and other anti-national activities.
The apex court had mandated the commission to examine the issue of sports betting and gambling following the spot-fixing and betting scandal during the 2013 season of IPL.
Cricketers S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan, the then BCCI president N. Sreenivasan’s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, and several bookies were arrested in connection with the case.
Those who run sports betting and gambling businesses should be licensed, the money transfers should be cashless and gamblers and bettors must compulsorily link their Aadhaar and PAN cards, the Law Commission of India has recommended.
“In order to protect the vulnerable class of people from the ill-effects of these activities and with a view to enhance transparency, gambling and betting activities should be linked with the Aadhaar Card/PAN of the individuals and operators,” the commission says.
Cashless gambling and betting “would enable appropriate authorities to keep a close eye on every single transaction made in this connection. Cash transactions in this industry should entail penal consequences under relevant provisions of law.”
The panel studied the practices in many countries before preparing its report. While recommending that the businesses should be licensed, the commission wants match-fixing and sports fraud to be made criminal offences.
Betting or gambling is a state subject though they are loosely governed by an archaic national law, the Public Gambling Act of 1867.
Most states don’t allow gambling or betting, including lotteries. According to the law, games of chance or luck are prohibited but games of skill in which bettors have a thorough knowledge of the sport at the time of placing a bet, have no restriction.
This distinction means horse racing is the only sport in India in which betting is legal as it is considered a game of skill. That also means that betting in all other sports, mostly cricket, given its huge popularity in India, has thrived behind a veil of secrecy.
Sources said the commission was likely to suggest to the government that “games of skill” and “games of luck” should be more sharply defined.
Since only Parliament has the power to legislate on gambling and betting, the law panel feels it should enact a model law to regulate these activities. In one of the suggestions to “strictly regulate” these activities, the panel wants a cap on the number of times an individual can gamble and/or bet during a specific period.
The commission wants a ban on children from gambling and betting. It has suggested that gambling be categorized as “proper gambling” and “small gambling,” depending on the stakes involved, sources said. “Proper gambling” would involve high stakes and would be feasible only for the rich. Poorer groups would be permitted “small gambling” with small stakes, the sources added.
The commission wants the businesses of bookies and punters to be taxed under the relevant laws. For legalisation of these activities, the panel also feels “suitable amendments” need to be made in Foreign Exchange Regulations and FDI policy.
Why did SC order examination of the issue?
Gambling and betting are illegal, but laws to deal with them are not clear. States can enact their own laws, but there is no uniformity.
Most of these laws pertain to physical gambling and not online or virtual gambling.
Section 67 of the Information Technology Act vaguely prohibits online transmission and publication of materials.
In 2015, a Delhi court, while discharging cricketer S Sreesanth and 35 others in the IPL spot-fixing case, said cricket betting was not an offence.
Source: Sana Shakil, 17 December 2017, The New Indian Express
BETTING
Slovenia
Eleven arrests in successful hit against sports corruption in multiple European Member States
On 18 December 2017, the National Bureau of Investigations of the Slovenian Police, supported by the Croatian Police and Europol, have dismantled an international crime syndicate involved in sports corruption and illegal betting. The network had created an illegal web-platform in order to convey large bets on major Asian bookmakers. In total, 13 house searches and 15 vehicles searches in different locations in Slovenia and Croatia have been carried out.
The investigation began in March 2017, when the Slovenian police realised that an organised crime group had created different websites as part of an online illegal betting platform used to place bets on manipulated sport events that took place in multiple European countries. The criminals are suspected of being involved in attempts to fix professional football matches in at least Serbia, FYROM and the Czech Republic. The organised criminal group behind these activities has been betting primarily on the Asian market, where they were guaranteed considerable financial gains by knowing the end result of the matches.
The illegal betting platform had been designed in such a way to ensure total anonymity of the financial transactions. Different members of the group transferred the money through several virtual currency exchange systems such as Skrill or Paysafe. The money earned through illegal betting was transferred to an Internet-operated bank (Alternative Banking Platform) and then transferred to different off-shore shell companies used to disguise the proceeds of crime from the real beneficiaries. The ring developed synergies with other top criminal groups in different countries in order to invest money gained from other serious crimes, including drug trafficking.
In total, 11 house searches and 13 vehicle searches were carried out in Slovenia, alongside two house searches and two vehicle searches in Croatia, resulting in the arrest of 11 members of the organised crime group and the seizure of 35 computers and IT devices, 32 mobile phones, EUR 19 650 in cash, EUR 38 500 of counterfeit euro banknotes and 2 vehicles. All of the suspects are accused of organised crime, sports corruption and illegal betting.
Sergio D’Orsi – Specialist of Europol’s Analysis Project Sports Corruption said: "Sports Corruption is a serious crime and a truly global phenomenon carried out by organised crime groups, most often operating cross-border. This international investigation has shown the level of sophistication reached by certain criminal networks involved in sports corruption which use new modi operandi to generate large illegal profits and invest money also coming from other serious crimes. International police cooperation is fundamental to disrupt such criminal networks. Our support to the investigation has surely given an added value to our Member States thanks to Europol’s unique analytical resources and expertise, and its high-level of engagement in this field."
Darko Majheni – Director of National Bureau of Investigations of the Slovenian Police said: "Slovenian Police is committed to pursue corruption in sport and Illegal betting in the region. Cooperation among Europol member countries and support of Europol have helped our skilled investigators to handle the workload. Investigators all over Europe will benefit from evidence gathered today."
Europol has supported the investigation since the beginning by providing continued analytical support. On the action day, three Europol experts were deployed to Slovenia to provide on-the-spot assistance including real-time cross-checks and analysis of data gathered during the action.
Source: 19 December 2017, Europol
GOOD PRACTICES
International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS)
ICSS launches whistleblower hotline for the US and Canada
The US, whose law enforcement bodies are intent on cleaning up world football and its global corruption surrounding high value marketing rights in the Americas, now has a dedicated whistleblower line for athletes, sports execs and even members of the public who want to report misconduct.
Set up by the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) of the International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) – the whistleblower line will also be open for reports of Canadian corruption and will be a multi-lingual service.
Managed by specialist third-party provider, WhistleBlower Security, the Sport Integrity Hotline will be open 24 hours a day / 365 days a year and can be accessed via phone, email or online.
Michael Hershman, ICSS Group CEO, said: “At a time where many current and former athletes in the United States and Canada are bravely speaking out about the years of victimisation and abuse they have suffered, it is important that we continue to encourage more people to come forward and to provide them with the right resources and professional tools to help confidentially report and uncover instances of corruption, discrimination and other integrity issues that affect sport today.
“The new Sport Integrity Hotline in the United States and Canada aims to provide a truly independent and confidential whistle-blower platform for athletes, coaches, sports organisations and members of the public across North America and supports the ongoing work of our dedicated Special Investigations Unit and experienced sport integrity experts at the ICSS.”
Reports made to the hotline will be analysed by a sport integrity expert at the SIU with details of the case will then being shared with appropriate authorities or relevant bodies – including law enforcement agencies.
Source: 12 December 2017, Inside World Football
https://www.insideworldfootball.com/2017/12/06/icss-launches-whistleblower-hotline-us-canada/
International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF)
ITTF launches integrity partnership with Sportradar
Global governing body appoints sports data company to lead fight against match-fixing.
The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has signed a multi-year partnership with sports data and integrity company Sportradar.
The deal is geared towards safeguarding table tennis against match-fixing, and will see hundreds of matches each year covered by Sportradar’s Fraud Detection System (FDS), which is used to identify betting-related manipulation in sport.
The agreement will cover all major ITTF events, including the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships, the men’s and women’s World Cup and the ITTF World Tour.
Additionally, the ITTF will be able to use Sportradar’s bespoke Fraud Intelligence Unit (FIU), a team of experts that will use a variety of tools and processes to detect individuals who are looking to enable, organise and finance any integrity attacks on table tennis.
Thomas Weikert, president of the ITTF, said: “We are very pleased to be signing a partnership with Sportradar, as the world’s leading supplier of solutions to help prevent the threat of match-fixing and other integrity concerns around table tennis.
“Protecting the sport from such activity is crucial in maintaining table tennis’ position as an exhilarating spectacle and professional sport. We are looking forward to working with Sportradar to keep our sport clean, which is one of the aspects that we pride ourselves on.”
Andreas Krannich, Sportradar’s managing director of integrity services, added: “Table tennis is a truly global sport, enjoyed in every corner of the globe and fan favourite at every Olympic Games.
“The ITTF have today sent a clear message to their stakeholders and fans: comprehensive and credible protection is now in place to keep the game you love honest. There will be no compromise in this regard. We are humbled by their trust and commitment.”
Source: Sam Carp, 12 December 2017, SportsPro
https://www.sportspromedia.com/news/ittf-launches-integrity-partnership-with-sportradar
World
Multi-stakeholder sports integrity taskforces established
International Partnership against Corruption in Sport (IPACS) establishes multi-stakeholder taskforces to tackle major challenges to sports integrity.
The International Partnership against Corruption in Sport (IPACS), a multi-stakeholder platform, agreed to set up three taskforces to help tackle corruption in sport at its meeting at the OECD in Paris on 14 to 15 December 2017.
Representatives from international sports organisations, governments, and inter-governmental organisations agreed that these taskforces will focus on the following priority areas:
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reducing the risk of corruption in procurement relating to sporting events and infrastructure;
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ensuring integrity in the selection of major sporting events, with an initial focus on managing conflict of interest;
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optimising the processes of compliance with good governance principles to mitigate the risk of corruption.
Each multi-stakeholder taskforce will develop specific initiatives such as checklists and pilot projects and report back to the IPACS working group during its next meeting scheduled for June 2018 at the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. A first high-level annual meeting is foreseen for late 2018.
IPACS was launched at the IOC’s International Forum on Sport Integrity (IFSI) held in February 2017. It is a multi-stakeholder platform with the mission “to bring together international sports organisations, governments, inter-governmental organisations, and other relevant stakeholders to strengthen and support efforts to eliminate corruption and promote a culture of good governance in and around sport”, as agreed at IPACS’ first working group meeting in June 2017.
These initiatives respond to the call made by leaders at the 2016 London Anti-Corruption Summit for a coordinated response to tackle corruption in sport. This call was echoed by the 14th Council of Europe Conference of Ministers Responsible for Sport on 29 November 2016. Support was further expressed by the G20 governments who, in their Leaders’ Declaration, committed to working to address integrity in sport and urged international sports organisations to intensify their fight against corruption by achieving the highest standards of global integrity and anti-corruption. Furthermore, through resolution 7/8 on Corruption in Sport adopted at the seventh session of the Conference of the States Parties Session of the Conference of States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption, Governments have been urged to effectively mitigate the risks of corruption in sport, including through multi-stakeholder global and national partnerships.
Today’s second meeting of the IPACS working group was coordinated by the IPACS core group - comprised of the United Kingdom Government, the IOC, the OECD, the Council of Europe, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Source: 15 December 2017, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
https://www.oecd.org/corruption/Multi-stakeholder-sports-integrity-taskforces-established.htm
ODDS AND ENDS
Global Lottery Monitoring System for sports betting (GLMS)
GLMS enters a new era with the launch of the New Monitoring System powered by TXODDS and the opening of New Operational Hub in Hong Kong
The Global Lottery Monitoring System for sports betting (GLMS) announced today the launch of a new cooperation with TXODDS.
A strategic priority of the new GLMS Executive Committee has been the consolidation of operations through the acquisition of an analytical tool that has customizable functionalities to prevent, detect, and manage all possible irregular and suspicious betting patterns. The TXODDS-powered GLMS system will ensure high efficiency in monitoring of betting patterns.
The announcement was made as part of a 2-day workshop in Paris that GLMS organised for its Members from 27 countries, to efficiently train its member data scientists and traders on the new system and ensure their full engagement and competent contribution to the new GLMS platform. On this development, GLMS President, Ludovico Calvi commented: “The new GLMS system powered by TXODDS will enhance our operational efficiency and will add value to our well-established operational expertise. I am also pleased by the enthusiasm of our members to familiarise themselves with the new system and contribute to the success of our global commitment in the fight against match fixing, in the highest interest of the credibility of sport”.
At the same time, the GLMS President announced the launch of a new operational hub in Asia, which makes the GLMS monitoring operations really global. The new operational hub, which will be hosted by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, represents the first of a series of hubs to be launched in other parts of the world. This move will strengthen the key mission of the GLMS, and will make it ever more credible and effective to all its stakeholders, including the Council of Europe, the Group of Copenhagen, the Olympic and sport movement, and law enforcement authorities worldwide.
Ludovico Calvi, stated further: “With the launch of the new operational hub in Hong Kong, GLMS becomes the first and only monitoring system with true global operations and local expertise, comprising sports betting operators from all parts of the globe. We will sustain and increase our determination to close partnerships with public and private stakeholders worldwide in an effort to effectively contribute to the on-going fight against match fixing, favouring the expansion of our hubs on other continents, leveraging on local expertise and intelligence gathering and contributing to the establishment – in cooperation with the Olympic and sport movement, the Council of Europe, Law Enforcement Agencies – of a general culture of Sport Integrity”.
Source: 12 December 2017, World Lottery Association
https://www.world-lotteries.org/es/media-news/wla-news/2643-glms-enters-a-new-era-with-the-launch-of-the-new-monitoring-system-powered-by-txodds-and-the-opening-of-new-operational-hub-in-hong-kong
Group of Copenhagen (GoC)
5th Group of Copenhagen meeting
The Network of National Platforms which was set up to fight against the manipulation of sports competitions has approved the features of its surveillance and alert tools.
The Network of National Platforms which was set up to fight against the manipulation of sports competitions has approved the features of its surveillance and alert tools. The “Group of Copenhagen” thus allows its members to exchange their information concerning suspicious activities which are either related to sports betting or not, and to co-operate more efficiently when curbing possible manipulations. This system will be used as part of a co-operation exercise with the International Olympic Committee during the XXIIIrd Winter Olympic Games (Pyeongchang, South Korea, 9-25 February 2018).
The Network of National Platforms is also committed to establishing a database which will collate alerts produced by the various national and international, public and private actors involved in the fight against the manipulation of sports competitions. This new tool will allow the Group of Copenhagen to provide targeted information to law enforcement agencies to help them fight crime and corruption in sport. By doing this, the Group of Copenhagen is putting into practice the co-operation it currently has with EUROPOL and INTERPOL.
An initial co-operation agreement with GLMS (Global Lotteries Monitoring Systems) will kick-start the data collection process and tests the analysis procedures. Other agreements of this type are being considered, for example with the IOC’s “Information Betting and Integrity System” (IBIS).
The Group of Copenhagen was set up by the Council of Europe in July 2016.
Source: 12 December 2017, Council of Europe
Latvia
Latvia signed CETS No. 215
Mr. Ivars PUNDURS, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of Latvia, signed in the presence of the Deputy Secretary General, the Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions (CETS No. 215). Latvia is the 29th Council of Europe member State having signed the "Macolin Convention", in addition to the three which have ratified the Convention.
Source: 12 December 2017, Council of Europe
New Zealand
NZ league catches betting fraudster via social media probe
New Zealand is the latest country to face a match-fixing scare in football, again proving that the phenomenon respects no boundaries and is adept at evolving new techniques to prey on players.
While one of the world’s smaller leagues in terms of profile with players all semi-professional, there is still about $33 million bet on the ISPS Handa Premiership worldwide, enough to be of interest to match-fixing syndicates globally.
A number of reports to the New Zealand FA and the New Zealand Professional Footballers’ Association (NZPFA) suggested that approaches were being made to players via social media channels.
New Zealand Football (NZF) has a monitoring agreement with Sportradar who conducted an investigation. Sportradar tracked the individual attempting to run the fix and while no link was established with a major match-fixing gang, a scam was uncovered.
“There’s a global practice where people parade through social media that they have information and try to get people to pay them money for that information, which they don’t necessarily have. It’s quite a well-known scam,” said NZF’s David Farrow to Stuff magazine in New Zealand.
Farrow told Stiff the NFA’s strategy takesa four-pronged approach: awareness, education, detection (with Sportradar) and information sharing (with the NZ TAB).
The NZPFA help with education with CEO Harry Ngata saying they use the example of former New Zealand cricketer and confessed match-fixer Lou Vincent a lot.
“There is an example with Lou when he had a pink bat grip on his bat handle and they bet on what colour it would be the next time he came out. It could be a certain footballer wearing an orange wristband for the first five minutes of a game,” said Ngata.
Source: 19 December 2017, Inside World Football
Football
INTEGRITY IN SPORT EVENTS
United Arab Emirates
Anti-corruption and integrity in sport focus of INTERPOL meetings
ABU DHABI, UAE – The complexities of international corruption and the corresponding need for a multi-sector and cross-border response were highlighted in meetings (13 and 14 December) held by INTERPOL in Abu Dhabi.
Exchanging information via INTERPOL’s global tools and services in the area of anti-corruption, asset recovery and money laundering was high on the agenda during the 1st Expert Working Group Meeting on the Global Focal Point Platform on Asset Recovery organized by INTERPOL Anti-Corruption’s unit and funded by the US Department of State and the Abu Dhabi Police General Headquarters (GHQ).
The Expert Group Meeting addressed the need to formulate guidelines – including on methodology and good practices – on integrating asset recovery in organized crime investigations which face different national legislations, rules, regulations, procedures and administrative arrangements governing asset recovery.
The event provided an opportunity to establish direct working relationships and facilitate the exchange of knowledge, thereby enhancing international cooperation in the area of asset recovery area through the Global Focal Point Platform, a secure, neutral platform for information exchange.
With the need for an effective, coordinated response to counter the threat of competition manipulation and related corruption in the sports world, INTERPOL’s Anti-Corruption unit and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) also organized an integrity in sport national workshop, in cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Police GHQ.
The workshop was part of INTERPOL’s training programme to assist countries in addressing the criminal challenges posed by competition manipulation, corruption and other threats to the integrity of sport.
INTERPOL-IOC Integrity in Sport national workshops are organized in countries worldwide to foster collaboration between law enforcement, the National Olympic Committee and national sports federations, public authorities (including Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Education and sports bodies), the betting industry and other actors involved in preventing the infiltration of crime into sport, particularly in relation to competition manipulation.
The Abu Dhabi workshop aimed in particular to identify key stakeholders for the development of a coordinated national approach in the UAE that protects the integrity of sport and facilitates the national and international cooperation necessary for preventing and investigating competition manipulation and other threats to the integrity of sport.
It also sought to develop understanding of the global threat from competition manipulation and irregular / illegal sports betting and its impact at the national level, and identify best practices to prevent competition manipulation and corruption in sport.
The national workshop gathered some 40 participants from law enforcement, the UAE National Olympic Committee, national sport federations, and public authorities.
Cooperation between INTERPOL and the IOC in the area of sports integrity was formalized in a Memorandum of Understanding signed in January 2014.
https://www.interpol.int/News-and-media/News/2017/N2017-173
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