We work with sports, the sports wagering industry, state and territory regulators and international counterparts to identify and coordinate Australia's response to competition manipulation and wagering related corruption.
What is competition manipulation?
Competition manipulation, sometimes referred to as match-fixing, is an intentional act to improperly alter the course of a sports competition to obtain a benefit. It can be performed by individual competitors, entire teams, support staff, match officials or venue staff.
Criminals are often involved in competition manipulation to illegally profit through betting markets. Competition manipulation can also be motivated by obtaining sport-related benefits or advantages, such as securing a better draw in the finals, or qualification for a major event.
What is sports gambling, wagering or betting?
The term 'sports betting' is often used interchangeably with 'sports gambling' and 'sports wagering'. In public-facing content such as our education products and social media – we use the terms 'sports gambling' and ‘sports betting’ because it’s more widely used and understood. All 3 terms describe the act of placing a wager or bet on the outcome of a sporting event.
You will often see the term ‘wagering’ in policy documents, legislation and other formal contexts. It is also commonly used when working on more technical matters with regulators, policymakers, sports data and integrity service providers and the broader wagering industry.
The Adam Green story
Former Australian table tennis player Adam Green pleaded guilty to placing bets on Ukrainian table tennis matches he knew to be fixed.
In the below interview, Sport Integrity Australia spoke with Mr Green about how he got caught up in the illegal gambling scheme and how being convicted for betting on fixed matches has adversely affected his life.
Competition Manipulation and Sports Gambling eLearning
Everyone involved in sport including athletes, employees, coaches, officials, contractors and support personnel at all levels should be aware of competition manipulation threats and their relevant sport specific policy.
To help increase awareness, we developed a Competition Manipulation and Sports Gambling eLearning program that covers the following key areas:
- what competition manipulation is and why people are motivated to engage in it
- rules about betting on your own sport
- why misusing inside information is prohibited
- how you may be approached or targeted by a corrupter and what you should do if approached
- reporting requirements if you are approached, or have knowledge or suspicions relating to competition manipulation
- the consequences if you engage in competition manipulation.
The Competition Manipulation and Sports Gambling eLearning program is available in our education portal.
Convention on the manipulation of sports competitions (Macolin Convention)
We are working with Government to ratify the Macolin Convention [PDF 175 KB] to promote national and international cooperation between governments and organisations involved in sports and sports betting.
National Platform
The National Platform serves as a central point to collect, analyse and share information between sports betting operators, sporting organisations, law enforcement and regulators to address the threat of competition manipulation.
National Sport Integrity Offences
We are working with Government to establish National Sport Integrity Offences to provide a harmonised and consistent national approach to competition manipulation. The proposed offences will complement those already introduced by some states and territories to safeguard Australian sports from corruption and exploitation.
International engagement
Acknowledging the significant threat to Australian sport from offshore match-fixing syndicates, Sport Integrity Australia are active members of various relevant international groups and forums that focus on competition manipulation including:
- International Partnership Against Corruption in Sport – capacity building and awareness raising for sport issues
- Group of Copenhagen – sharing betting related information across national platforms
- United National Office of Drugs and Crime – thematic experts’ groups for publications and events
- INTERPOL Match-Fixing Taskforce – to focus on cross jurisdictional efforts to counter manipulations and support major events, including targeting illegal betting activity.
Resources
More information about livestreaming sporting events, data scouts and courtsiding can be found under the Cheating and Sports Betting section on our resources page.