Finding the suspicious bets in an 80 billion dollar industry
Knowledge bank: The online sports betting business has an annual turnover of $80 billion and it is increasingly attractive to try and influence outcome of games. At the 2006 World Cup in Germany, FIFA set up a special early warning system to catch suspicious bets. FIFA and UEFA have also set up alert systems with other lotteries and gambling companies.
”Allegations of manipulation can only be expected when the explosion of gambling facilities vastly increases the returns from cheating.“
So says professor Jan McMillen, director of Centre for Gamling Research at the Australian National University to Sydney Morning Herald. The professor points out that sport is a business now and the reputation and integrity of the sport is at risk unless proper regulations are in place.
As Play the Game research shows allegations of match fixing to be piling up as the gambling industry is thriving.
According to Bloomberg the online sports wagering business was up 20 percent this year to $80 billion. The number of online gambling sites has increased to 2500 from 900 since the last football World Cup.
The gambling boom is driven by faster Internet connections and new software that allow punters to bet on everything from the number of corner kicks to which players are thrown out while the match is being played.
FIFA set up early warning system for World Cup
The explosive growth of sports wagering made FIFA worry it could provide cover for criminals trying to influence the outcome of World Cup games and an early warning system was set up between FIFA and an undisclosed number of bookmakers to share real-time information about suspicious betting patters.
All players and officials were forced to sign declarations pledging not to put any wagers on the World Cup, and FIFA also prompted the organisers to monitor gambling in order to keep an eye out for any suspicious patterns.
“We are ready to act within hours. We can take action like changing referee,” FIFA’s chief attorney, Heinz Taennler, told Bloomberg.
Apart from protecting football from match-fixers, FIFA also had to keep the game clean to keep corporate sponsors like Coca-Cola, McDonald’s Corp. and Adidas in the game as they had paid more than $800 million to back this year’s final.
General early warning systems
Early warning systems have also been set up between UEFA and European Lotteries and FIFA and World Lotteries.
In the case of UEFA and European Lotteries the system works like this: Bets are continuously monitored to detect unusual betting patterns. If one is detected, the betting companies discuss the bet to determine whether it can be explained in a positive way. If not the betting company will contact UEFA and inform the federation about the bet.
UEFA now has the chance to take precautionary measures and alert the clubs in question to the suspicions. UEFA can also decide to send an observer to the match to look for signs of wrongdoing in the hope that such action will act as a deterrent to any potential wrong-doers.