Group led by Rick Parry advocates the establishment of a national ‘sportsbetting intelligence unit’ to prevent betting corruption in sports.
Wednesday 10th February 2010
In the UK, the Sportsbetting Integrity Panel has published a report recommending the formation of a national cross-sports integrity unit to tackle the threat of betting corruption in sport.
A creation of the Department For Culture Media And Sport (DCMS), the Panel is headed by the former Chief Executive Officer for Liverpool Football Club, Rick Parry, and includes representatives from the betting industry alongside police, players, fans, sports governing bodies, the legal profession and the Gambling Commission to address issues threatening the integrity of sport.
The Panel was commissioned by Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe in June to examine the scale of current risks to sports in the UK by way of betting corruption including how suspicious patterns are identified and assessed in markets both inside and outside of the country. Sutcliffe asked the body to report within six months with a clear set of recommendations to help uphold integrity in sports and the associated betting industry.
The Panel recommended the formation of a ‘sportsbetting intelligence unit’ that would be ‘efficient in its handling of intelligence from sports and betting and have an effective investigation process in place, which where appropriate will lead to disciplinary action under sports’ rules or criminal prosecution’. In addition, the report advocated the appointment of a director to lead the new body, which would be housed within the Gambling Commission.
The report also recommended the implementation of a comprehensive education programme on sportsbetting integrity for competitors run with the help of sports regulators and players associations alongside a new code of conduct to which all governing bodies would be required to adhere. This code of conduct would administered by a ‘sportsbetting group’ consisting of individuals from the world of sport while every sport would be required to implement a system for capturing intelligence and report regularly to the ‘sportsbetting intelligence unit’.
“The report that I’ve delivered to the Minister today presents a clear way forward in tackling the growing threat of corruption to the integrity of sport,” said Parry.
“We have to take the toughest possible approach if we want to stamp out cheating and that’s why it’s so vitally important that the recommendations are taken on board and followed through. This should be a no compromise approach. The panel has identified a number of areas that need work and we now need the full sign up of the Government, the gambling industry, sports governing bodies, the police and the Gambling Commission to put them into practice.”
