Sport Bookmakers Seek Safety in Numbers Versus Cheating

Sport bookmakers seek safety in numbers versus cheating


10 November 2010


The recent decision by Pakistan's cricket authorities to suspend the main agreements of 3 players means among the summer season's greatest sport gambling stories refuses to disappear.


Batsman Salman Butt and pace bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif are under investigation for alleged spot-fixing throughout Pakistan's trip of England earlier this year.


They stay provisionally suspended from all cricketing activities by the International Cricket Council.


"The allegations around the Pakistan cricket team and their UK check out this summertime have actually been so incendiary that they still stay in the headlines," says Khalid Ali, secretary general of the European Sports Security Association (ESSA).


'Confront obstacles'


Brussels-based ESSA was established by leading online sports book operators in Europe to monitor any irregular betting patterns or possible expert wagering from within each sport.


It has signed memorandums of understanding with a number of sports bodies - consisting of FIFA, UEFA, EPFL, the FA, DFB, ATP, ITF and WTA - and has actually developed close relations with the IOC and many other sports regulators.


"Nobody wants to bank on contests whose outcomes they feel are rigged," says Mr Ali, discussing sports betting.


"The certified wagering industry is identified to challenge the obstacles head-on."


It was a scandal five years ago which resulted in the creation of this bookies' intelligence operation, one created to keep an eye on and dispatch suspicious betting patterns.


The body came about in 2005 following a scandal in Germany which saw a referee fixing games - the well-known Hoyzer case.