UK considering new sports betting rules to stop game fixing

New rules are being considered by the governing bodies of the most popular sports in the U.K., including the possibility of professional athletes to be required to report every bet they make. The governing bodies of UK football, cricket, horse racing, as well as other sports, are considering tightening the rules of sports betting as related to the athletes taking part in these sports, amid the growing corruption and match-fixing scandals. In the last year and a half alone, the Gambling Commission has investigated 47 cases of illegal betting and match-fixing in the Kingdom. "Match fixing is as great a risk to the integrity of sports as doping, That is why the sports have been campaigning for a greater regulation of sports betting for some time," a spokesman for the sports governing bodies was quoted.

Naturally, football games, horse racing and tennis are the top sports most affected by the illegal betting and match-fixing by their participants, reports have shown. The UK sports minister is calling for much tougher rules that would govern how athletes place sports bets, including, but not limited to, random check of accounts at bookmakers and monitoring of all bets placed by professional sportsmen, including on games in which they are not competing.

Published on 03/07/2009