Gambling Commission steps up drive to protect betting integrity
Press
release
Date: 30 March
2009
The Gambling Commission (the Commission) has stepped up its
drive to maintain the integrity of betting in Great Britain and is
calling for enhanced co-ordination between sports governing bodies
and betting operators in a policy position paper published
today.
The Commission is already working with CCPR on an assessment of
how well equipped sports governing bodies are to manage any threat
to integrity in their sport. Work has also already begun with the
betting industry to ensure best use is made of the established
reporting arrangements.
The paper says that around 50 instances of potentially
suspicious betting have been reported or identified since new
requirements came into force in September 2007. All of these have
been, or are being, examined by the relevant sport governing body
or the Commission.
In nearly half of these cases the grounds for suspicion have not
been substantiated following an initial consideration. The
remaining cases are under consideration, in some cases by sports
governing bodies, and include a small number of active
investigations in which the Commission is further involved. The
Commission has reinforced its betting integrity team and
streamlined its processes to ensure such cases continue to be
identified and dealt with quickly and effectively.
The integrity team has been recently bolstered by the addition of
further expertise in serious crime and financial investigations and
is led by the Commission's Director of Regulation, Nick
Tofiluk.
Gambling Commission Chairman Brian Pomeroy said:
"While limited evidence has so far emerged to support the
widespread concern about the risks to betting integrity, combating
those risks by working effectively with our partners is a key
priority for the Gambling Commission.
"Our integrity team is already working with CCPR, sports
governing bodies and betting operators to develop enhanced joint
working as we strive to maintain the integrity of betting in Great
Britain."
The Commission has also published today its conclusions
following a review of in-running betting which concluded there is
insufficient evidence to restrict betting types or betting
in-running given the existing protections for integrity. The
Commission will deal with in-running betting risks to integrity as
part of its wider integrity programme.
Ends.
Notes to editors
The Gambling Commission
1. The Gambling Commission (the Commission) regulates
gambling in the public interest.
2. The Commission's objectives are: to prevent gambling
from being a source of crime or disorder, being associated with
crime or disorder or being used to support crime; to ensure that
gambling is conducted in a fair and open way; and, to protect
children and other vulnerable people from being harmed or exploited
by gambling.
3. The Commission is responsible for licensing and
regulating all commercial gambling in Great Britain other than the
National Lottery and spread betting, which are the responsibility
of the National Lottery Commission and the Financial Services
Authority (FSA) respectively.
4. The Commission's integrity team draws from the
Commission's teams in Compliance, Enforcement, Intelligence and
Policy.
5. The Commission's
Licence
conditions and codes of practice - consolidated December 2011are available on our
website. They include details of the requirements on betting
operators to share information with the Commission and sports
governing bodies.
6. CCPR (Central Council of Physical Recreation) is a national
alliance of governing and representative bodies of sport and
recreation.
7. The documents can be downloaded from the Gambling
Commission's website:
Further information
Further information is available from the Commission's
website.
Gambling Commission: John Travers on (0121) 230 6700 or
communications@gamblingcommission.gov.uk