Gambling-led Corruption in International Sport: an Australian Perspective

On the occasion of a workshop organised by the Australian Research Council’s (ARC) Centre of Excellence in Policing and Security (CEPS) in 2011, law professor Jack Anderson from Queen’s University in Belfast wrote this analysis of how Australia could contribute to the international fight against match-fixing. 

Among Anderson's recommendations, which are also relevant outside Australia, are:

• The adoption of codes of conduct by sports;
• The possibility that federal funding of sports would be made contingent on sports bodies implementing appropriate anti-corruption policies and practices;
• That legal and licensing arrangements would be developed between betting companies and sports bodies that include obligations to share information and veto bets, as overseen administratively by a newly established National Integrity of Sport Unit;
• That agreement would be pursued on achieving nationally consistent legislative arrangements and specifically with regard to a criminal offence of cheating at gambling, which would assist in targeting those involved in such conspiracies but who do not come within the regulatory remit of a sports body.
• A commitment on behalf of all parties to continue to pursue an international solution and further international co-operation in the area.

The background for these recommendations is outlined in a thourough analysis written for the International Sports Law Journal. You can read the article here.