by David Purdum, ESPN
Crime syndicates are attacking the soul of international sports with relentless and brazen attempts at match-fixing and betting fraud, thriving in areas where sports betting is underregulated. However, they can cross over into legal markets online to manipulate games all over the globe. They’re taking a toll on the perception of the games, increasing the public’s skepticism with each compromised match. Now, the world’s integrity monitors are looking to the U.S. to join the fight by legalizing sports betting and teaming with like-minded countries to eliminate gambling corruption in sports.
“Eastern European and Southeast Asian betting fraudsters have driven European soccer into the danger zone,” Chris Eaton, a global sports security expert who has worked with INTERPOL and FIFA, said. “The USA very much holds the key to saving international sport from complete loss of credibility.”
Long-tentacled syndicates have used millions of dollars to bribe match officials, club officials and players in more than 15 countries, according to Europol. Some networks have gone as far as to concoct make-believe “ghost” matches, duping sportsbooks with fraudulent data and profiting by betting on the result of an event that never occurred.
With the global sports betting market estimated to be four times larger than the global sports economy, it’s a scary time for international sport and the U.S. leagues looking to expand their reach into these territories.
But there are companies fighting back against the corruption.
European integrity service Sportradar tracks the betting action on more than 65,000 matches across 10 sports annually. Since 2009, it has sent out more than 1,800 betting fraud reports on matches it was confident had been manipulated, including 380 in 2014. And Eaton is now the executive director of sport security for the International Center for Sport Security (ICSS).
Formed in 2011, the ICSS advises in sport safety, security and integrity and aims to rid sports of corruption. It has partnered with data providers, betting integrity monitors and sports leagues to get a grasp of the scope of the global sports betting market. The ICSS estimates the global sports betting market is worth $1.5-2 trillion, nearly equal to the gross national product of Russia, and believes approximately $406 billion is wagered on American sports outside of the U.S. With the vast majority of sports betting taking place in unregulated environments, estimates are difficult to legitimize, but everyone agrees — it’s a mammoth market that is being capitalized on by organized crime and used as a vehicle to launder large sums of money.
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