Betfair has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the IOC to share information during the London 2012 Games. The two parties will exchange relevant customer and transactional data in the event that suspicious betting patterns occur. It gives the IOC the opportunity to obtain the names of account holders that are involved and a wealth of other information.
“The interests of sports governing bodies, like the IOC, and Betfair are completely aligned in wanting to ensure consumers can bet on sporting events in a transparent and secure manner,” said Martin Cruddace, Betfair’s chief legal and regulatory affairs officer.
The betting exchange had a similar agreement with the IOC ahead of Beijing 2008 and has a number of weapons in its arsenal to fight suspicious betting. It includes specialized software that identifies suspicious transactions and a team of integrity experts.
UEFA has followed FIFA in taking a tough stance against match fixing this year. Football’s governing body for Europe has enlisted the help of Interpol to tackle match fixing and violence in stadiums at the upcoming European Championships in Poland and Ukraine. UEFA president Michel Platini met with Interpol secretary Ronald Noble yesterday and it’s proposed that the two sides with sign a MoU to affirm their working relationship. Interpol already has a 10-year agreement in place with FIFA and the one here will be for one tournament.
Cricketer Mervyn Westfield is facing time behind bars after admitting his guilt in the latest spot fixing scandal to rock the sport. The 23-year-old pleaded guilty to accepting or obtaining a corrupt payment in a way that would allow a certain number of runs. Sentencing has been put back to 10 February, Judge Anthony Morris telling Westfield: “I hold out no promises to you as to the eventual outcome of this case. It’s open to the court in this case to pass an immediate custodial sentence.”
