Sport Bookmakers Seek Safety In Numbers Against Cheating
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Sport bookies seek security in numbers against cheating
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10 November 2010
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The recent decision by Pakistan's cricket authorities to suspend the central agreements of 3 players indicates one of the summer's most significant sport gaming stories declines to disappear.
Batsman Salman Butt and rate bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif are under examination for supposed spot-fixing throughout tour of England earlier this year.
They remain provisionally suspended from all cricketing activities by the International Cricket Council.
"The claims around the Pakistan cricket group and their UK go to this summer season have been so incendiary that they still remain in the headlines," states Khalid Ali, secretary general of the European Sports Security Association (ESSA).
'Confront obstacles'
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Brussels-based ESSA was established by leading online sports book operators in Europe to keep an eye on any irregular wagering patterns or possible insider betting from within each sport.
It has signed memorandums of comprehending with a number of sports bodies - including FIFA, UEFA, EPFL, the FA, DFB, ATP, ITF and WTA - and has developed close relations with the IOC and many other sports regulators.
"Nobody wishes to bank on contests whose results they feel are rigged," states Mr Ali, discussing sports betting.
"The certified wagering market is determined to confront the challenges head-on."
It was a scandal 5 years ago which led to the development of this bookies' intelligence operation, one developed to monitor and dispatch suspicious wagering patterns.
The body happened in 2005 following a scandal in Germany which saw a referee fixing games - the infamous Hoyzer case.
"That was a match-fixing scandal affecting German football matches and named after the yohaig code referee Robert Hoyzer, who was condemned of accepting allurements," says Mr Ali.
"It was Odset, the German state-run betting monopoly, that lost millions in euros, as they were not able to track the bets being put on place in Germany on the fixed video games.
"But the licensed and regulated online market, with its electronic audit trails, was untouched by the affair."
Mr Hoyzer was subsequently jailed for his function in the scandal.
Information sharing
Nevertheless, the scandal galvanised ESSA's founding members to attempt and develop a system where the licensed wagering sector and sporting authorities might work together "to share information on irregular and suspicious wagering".
Essa represents licensed fixed odds bookmakers such as Ladbrokes, Bwin and Unibet, but gambling exchanges are not part of the organisation.
"Most of our members are noted on stock markets, so it is also in their interests to stop bribery, corruption and matchfixing," states Mr Ali.
If there is a scandal, accredited bookies can lose money as individuals stop betting and "the entire market is tarnished".
The Essa companies have actually developed a central office to share information and security and pass on info to sports organisations totally free of charge.
"A great deal of work has been done in regards to developing and improving the manner in which sports and bookmakers communicate and work with one another," states Mr Ali.
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'Safety standards'
Each Essa member uses odds on an average of 500,000 various bets a year, and each digests and scrutinises the electronic information it receives.
There are early warning systems in place, which he states, makes it difficult for criminals to do misaligned things online.
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"Every reliable bookmaker has their own safety standards.
"Online is well-regulated, people who come online leave a footprint and great deals of details about who they are and where they are," states Mr Ali.
"Technology implies we are able to find in real time when suspicious bets are bet."
Essa companies can use "stop losses" or wagering ceilings to avoid more bets being positioned.
"Once irregular betting has been determined, this info is shared amongst the Essa group with an hour, and if shown to be suspicious, passed to sport federation," says Mr Ali.
"We are developing some momentum now and would like other individuals to come on board, such as state monopolies."
'Little education'
Essa has actually also designed a standard procedure for sportspersons and ladies and is working with sporting body EU Professional Athletes.
Mr Ali has performed face-to-face conferences with professional athletes in Germany, France and Spain, talking about concerns such as match-fixing and betting.
And it is hoped that Essa can even more expand that work with the European athletes group next year.
"We have had players concerning us and asking us to assist them," he includes.
"Some of them have had no, or extremely little bit, education on gaming and sporting regulations.
"We see young athletes, not wagering extremely heavily, however breaking the rules of their sport."
And he states that a couple of sports do not even have a gambling referral in their standard procedure.
Denied wrongdoing
At present, the Pakistan case looks like dragging on for a while yet.
Mr Butt and Mr Amir have actually lost their attract the ICC over the provisional bans, while Mr Asif has actually withdrawn his appeal.
PCB official Zakir Khan said the players' agreements were suspended in line with the ICC's anti-corruption yohaig promotion code.
The innocence or regret of the players, who have actually denied any misbehavior, will be judged at an independent tribunal, the date of which has yet to be set.
'Challenges facing sport'
ESSA's Mr Ali thinks that a lot of the problems surrounding sports betting which have actually emerged over the past year have actually been connected with markets where gaming is prohibited, such as the Asian sub-continent and East Asia.
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"When you have prohibitions, betting is driven underground into the black market," he states.
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And he cautions there is no room for complacency.
"The obstacles presently facing sports - and in specific how we deal with the stability issues - are so essential that if we don't handle them properly and quickly they might send sport - and the sports gaming market - into decrease."
"But if we understand the effort, we really do have the opportunity to put the brakes on match fixing."
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