PtG Article 04.10.2009

IOC confirms establishment of betting control for future Olympics

A spokeswoman for the International Olympic Committee, Emmanuelle Moreau, confirms what Play the Game wrote earlier today, that the IOC is setting up a new company, International Sports Monitoring, to watch over betting patterns during future Olympic Games.

By: Jens Sejer Andersen

The Winter Olympics in Vancouver that start in little more than four months time, will be the first test for the new company. During the Beijing Games the IOC co-operated with another company, Early Warning System, set up by FIFA, and no suspicious betting patterns were discovered.

“The IOC has decided to set up its own company that can work independently from any particular federation, and at the same time be at the disposal of all international federations on future occasions,” Emmanuelle Moreau told Play the Game.

According to studies carried out by external consultants, the Olympic Games are not at high risk for manipulated results, Moreau says, but the IOC wants to be on the safe side in face of this growing threat.