How is the Gambling Commission ensuring any bets placed on Olympics events are fair?
The Gambling Commission’s Sports Betting Intelligence Unit
(SBIU) and the International Olympic Committee
will continue to work together with the support of the police and
other relevant bodies to assess any allegations or suspicions of
wrongdoing. Together we will decide what, if any, further action
needs to be taken.
The Gambling Commission has existing arrangements with sports
authorities, law enforcement agencies and the legal betting
industry in Great Britain to ensure that information relevant to
integrity in sports betting is shared effectively:
- The Gambling Act 2005 enables the Gambling Commission to
exchange information with the police and other law enforcement
agencies for the purposes of a criminal investigation (whether in
Great Britain or elsewhere).
- Memoranda of Understanding are in place to formalise processes
for exchange of information between other organisations that we
work alongside including: The International Olympic Committee
(IOC), the Olympic Intelligence Centre (police) and International
Sports Monitoring (ISM).
- The Gambling Commission’s intelligence unit operates within the
National Intelligence Model (NIM), to identify patterns of crime
connected to gambling, to develop understanding of these patterns,
and to share intelligence as appropriate with police, other law
enforcement agencies and other relevant stakeholders.
- We have published a list of sports governing bodies that
betting operators licensed in Britain must report suspicious
betting to:
http://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/gf-useful_links/sport_governing_bodies.aspx .
The list was updated in June 2012 and now includes the
International Olympic Committee. In Britain changes have recently
been made to the Gambling Act 2005 (Schedule 6) that make it easier
for us to share information with a wider number of sports governing
bodies during any investigation.
- We have a confidential helpline via which anybody can report
concerns about sports betting: 0121 230 6655.
Further information
Sports Betting Intelligence Unit (SBIU) – more information
about the work of the Gambling Commission’s SBIU.
Our
Betting integrity decision making framework - December 2010
sets out the process, in the context of betting integrity, from
when we first receive a piece of information through to when a case
is closed.
Page last reviewed: July 2012