UEFA Expert: Match-Fixing Has Spread to Chess, Darts and Skiing

The number of cases involving the manipulation of sporting events is rising rapidly worldwide, with match-fixing now being detected even in chess, darts and skiing, participants in a UK House of Lords hearing said, according to The Guardian.

The hearing examined the ratification* of the Macolin Convention, an international agreement aimed at combating the manipulation of sports competitions. The UK signed the convention in 2018 but only recently submitted it to Parliament for approval.

UEFA representative Madalina Diaconu said match-fixing had previously been associated mainly with football, cricket and tennis, but violations were now being recorded in almost every sport and across different regions of the world.

Diaconu said many schemes were run by organised crime groups. Betting on predetermined outcomes allows them to generate profits and launder money obtained through drug trafficking and human trafficking.

Former Crystal Palace player Moses Swaibu said law enforcement agencies and sports governing bodies were failing to keep pace with technological developments and the growth of prediction markets. He added that many young athletes were unaware of the rules concerning betting and match-fixing, while existing prevention measures remained outdated.

In 2013, Swaibu was involved in arranging fixed matches at Bromley and was later sentenced to prison. He now delivers sports integrity training, including sessions for English Premier League club academies.

House of Lords member Paul Boateng added that the expansion of online betting in North and Central America was also worsening the match-fixing problem.

* Ratification is the formal approval of an international agreement, after which a country accepts the obligation to comply with it.