More detail on sportsbetting report

More details are now available on the report earlier today that illegal sports betting constitutes 80 percent of the international market and generates up to $140 billion (see previous report):

* The ICSS-Sorbonne report, titled ‘Protecting the Integrity of Sport Competition: The Last Bet for Modern Sport’ is the result of two years of extensive research and concludes:

* Illegal betting is the chief channel for match-fixing;

* Internationally, governments have a responsibility to ensure that sports betting activity is properly regulated;

* The threat is sufficiently large to constitute a danger to the very foundation of sport;

* The most manipulated competitions are at a national level but the ‘fixing’ of competition and betting is instigated at a transnational level;

* The sports economy now accounts for 2 percent of the global GDP, with a transnational sports-betting market of estimated wagers worth between Euro 200 – 500 billion, more than 80 percent of which is illegal;

* Asia and Europe represent 85 percent of the total legal and illegal market;

* Europe makes up 49 percent of the legal market, whilst Asia makes up 53 percent of the illegal market;

* Legal sports betting currently delivers only Euro 4 billion of official tax revenues for countries;

* More than 8,000 legal operators offer sports betting – 80 percent are in territories with a low rate of tax and few inspections;

* Illegal operations are too many to accurately enumerate;

* The advent of the internet has led to an unprecedented expansion of sport betting offers, with online betting now representing 30 percent of the global market.

* The sports betting market has been transformed into a multi-billion dollar industry with betting exchanges, live betting, betting on more low-profile events and derivative betting formulas, as well as higher return rates for bettors.

* The evolution of the betting regulatory models hasn’t kept up, with authorities often ill-equipped to deal with the illegal and under-regulated betting, together with the related issues of manipulation and money laundering.

* Live betting is the most vulnerable channel for corruption;

* Current measures to combat manipulation are insufficient;

* Combating manipulation need cooperation between the sports movement, public authorities and betting operators;

* The main limitations of current measures are: a lack of cooperation between stakeholders on a national level; insufficient cooperation on an international level; relatively young and informal stakeholder relationships and the disparate response of sports federations.

* Prevention and education are vital, yet 60 percent of the initiatives identified were only launched in the last 18 months, with 40 percent developed in Europe mainly in football, tennis, cricket and rugby;

* Improving the governance of sports organisations is another priority, as well as developing effective sports betting regulations and equipping regulatory authorities with effective powers and means.

* Effective counter-measures could include This could include blacklisting illegal operators on an international scale; blocking financial transactions; refusing to licence applicants on other countries’ black lists; closer liaison and sharing og information between sports bodies and closer monitoring of illegal activity.

* Harmonisation of sports’ disciplinary rules.

Laurent Vidal, chair of the Sorbonne-ICSS Research Program said Thursday that more than 70 experts worked on the report, which based its conclusions on scientific and practical methodology and assessment.

“The report reveals the startling scale of sport corruption and betting fraud and the limitations of current preventative measures,” Vidal said.

“Furthermore, it is clear that current international instruments are insufficient and there is a desperate need for well-designed criminal laws specific to the manipulation of sport. An international agreement on the manipulation of sport competition, coordinated by an overarching global platform, is now an urgent necessity.”

Vidal said the research team’s report presented recommendations which include the creation of a sports betting tax to finance investigations into match-fixing and illegal-betting; the determination of an integrity risk assessment and management system for sports organisations; and prohibiting players, coaches and administrators from betting on competitions and matches within their sports.

Access the ICSS-Sorbonne report here: http://www.theicss.org/sport-integrity-forum/