ACC – In this eBulletin, we provide an overview of the findings arising from the Sorbonne-ICSS Integrity Report into the prevalence of match-fixing and illegal betting in international sport.
The report details how a lack of regulatory oversight and the explosion of online betting have gone hand-in-hand with the growth of the illegal betting market, and has allowed criminals to launder approximately $US140 billion annually through sports bets.
The report also highlights the problem of match-fixing at all levels and across a variety of disciplines of sport, with a particular emphasis on football and cricket, two sports that the report describes as being “under siege.”
On 15 May 2014, Paris’ Pantheon-Sorbonne University announced the findings of a two-year research project into corruption in sport entitled Protecting the Integrity of Sport Competition: The Last Bet for Modern Sport (Report).
The Report provides fascinating insight into the depth of transnational sports betting markets, claiming that:
- the sports betting market amounts to between €200 and €500 billion worldwide annually, up to 80% of which is illegally transacted;
- approximately $US140 billion is laundered through sports bets each year – which translates to roughly 10% of the worldwide revenue of organised crime that gains the appearance of legality through sports betting; and
- Asia and Europe combined represent 85% of the total betting market – both legal and illegal.
