Sports betting; the point of view of international sports organisations International Assocation of Gambling Advisors Pâquerette Girard Zappelli, Secretary of the IOC Ethics Commission Philadelphia, 30 October 2014
Sports betting, a reality A social reality A way for fans to support and enjoy sport A financial opportunity for sport, directly (team or individual sponsorship) or indirectly (via tax redistribution) A risk linked with the obvious conflict: betting is about ensuring a result when sport is about uncertainty of the result The influence of new technologies making the risk more global International sports organisations have to deal with this reality 2
Olympic Sports Historical 3 dimensions strategy Strict rules prohibiting those involved in sport to bet on their sport A zero tolerance policy for any form of manipulation Strong educational campaign for athletes and their entourage Efficient monitoring and exchange of information with the betting operators and gambling regulators and law enforcement agencies 3
The multi-dimensional policy to mitigate the risk Coherent national legislation to make sure that the reality of the sports betting market is regulated (best way to fight against illegal market is to have a strong legal market) Robust criminal legislation to be able to strongly sanction the manipulation of sports competitions when they involve either coercive, corrupt or fraudulent practices A centralised authority (regulator) to enforce the exchange of information and create trust between law enforcement agencies, betting operators and sports organisations The Convention of the Council of Europe on manipulation of competition as the tool for international exchange of information between the countries. 4
Since 2006, the IOC has taken a lead role to support clean athletes Rules for the Olympic Games since 2006 Monitoring of the Olympic Games since 2008 Information Seminar for International Federations in 2010 Working Group on the Fight against Irregular and Illegal Betting on Sport since 2011: a global strategy with the support of all stakeholders: sport, governments, international organisations and betting operators Pragmatic approach from London Olympic Games 2012, with the Joint Assessment Unit set up under the auspices of the UK Gambling Commission to enable intelligence and information sharing between all the partners including police Olympic Agenda 2020: reinforced efforts by the Olympic Movement The International Forum for Sport Integrity (IFSI): first meeting in April 20155
IOC Clean Athletes Strategy: IOC International Forum for Sports Integrity (IFSI): Discussions on three levels Regulations/ Legislation Sports Regulations - IOC Olympic Games Rules - ASOIF Model Rules Data base of National Laws against the manipulation of sports competitions (in collaboration with the Council of Europe) Recommended Minimum LegalStandards to ensure clean sport (in collaboration with UNODC) Signature, Ratification or Accession to: - COE Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions - UN Convention Against Corruption - UN Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime Monitoring/ Intelligence/ Investigations Integrity Betting Intelligence System (IBIS) Investigative capacity building with the support of INTERPOL IOC Integrity Reporting/ Whistleblowing Mechanism Awareness-Raising and Education For police + sport Permanent information and educational tools Code of Conduct «Protect your sport», website, educational tool kit e-learning (under development) Olympic Games/Youth Olympic Games/Multi Sport Games PlayFair Kit: PlayFair Integrity Booth, Workshops, Quiz, Game Integrity Workshops in partnership with INTERPOL - For International Sports Federations Integrity Single Point of Contact (ispoc) - For National Olympic Committees/national federations ispocs - For Police Integrity in Sport Handbooks for Sport and Law Enforcement in partnership with INTERPOL 6
To have Clean Athletes, Clean Competitions and Clean Sport requires cooperation and communication between sport, government, international organisations and betting operators. XXX 3/31/15 7