The UK Gambling Commission is alarmed by the sharp increase in the number of
match fixing and illegal betting cases in the past year and a half, and is
taking the necessary steps to counter this problem.
According to statistics provided by the Commission, there have been 47 cases
of alleged betting scams in the UK in the past 17 months alone.
The governing bodies of several of the country's top sports, including
cricket, soccer and horse racing have met together in an attempt to bring an end
to gambling corruption and have decided to tighten their rules and make
greater demands on their members.
The UK Sports Minister, Gerry Sutcliffe, said that he would be meeting with
the heads of these sports to help create new guidelines and standards.
It has been reported, for example, that all professional sportspeople will
need to register every single bet they make, as a means to combat the growing
rate of corruption.
In addition, betting groups could be subject to random checks on their books
to check whether professional athletes have made unregistered bets.
"Match fixing is as great a risk to the integrity of sports as doping," said
the spokesman for a coalition of sports bodies, Tim Payton. "That is why the
sports have been campaigning for a greater regulation of sports betting for some
time."
Payton spoke of the steps needed to be taken to maintain the high ethical
standards traditionally found in UK sports. "British sports has a good
reputation and wants to maintain it that way," he said. "The budget for the UK's
anti-doping program has just increased to 8 million GBP a year. This includes a
huge testing program which has a considerable deterrent affect as well as
participants know that they face a higher chance of being detected. The same
rigour needs to be applied to match fixing."
While sports such as horseracing and snooker, along with soccer, are
considered to be the most corrupt sport, branches such as cricket and tennis are
also on the radar screen.
