The Remote Gambling Association (RGA) announced today that the Betting Integrity Stakeholder Seminar – which was held yesterday in London and saw the betting industry, the Gambling Commission and the Olympic authorities come together as a group for the first time – was “constructive and informative by all attendees”.
In a press release, the RGA explained the seminar was held to discuss how the industry could work with the Joint Assessment Unit to counter any threat of betting-related corruption during London will be minimised.
During the seminar, the betting industry agreed to a Statement of Intent to which it will subscribe during the London 2012 Olympic Games. Betting operators licensed in Great Britain are already required to report suspicious betting patterns to the Gambling Commission, and under these principles signatories located in other jurisdictions will also report information to the Joint Assessment Unit. Operators have also agreed not to knowingly take bets from IOC accredited individuals and to ensure that monitoring systems are manned 24/7 during the Games.
Ladbrokes Business Director and Head Bookmaker at the European Sports Security Association, Mike O’Kane, who chaired the meeting, said: “The afternoon was very constructive with all involved getting to grips with how we can work together to limit any threat of betting-related corruption during London 2012. By remaining vigilant and having expert monitoring systems and robust reporting processes, the regulated betting industry is confident there is little risk of betting corruption posed on our legal licensed markets.”
Head of Regulation at the Gambling Commission, Nick Tofiluk, added: “The Gambling Commission’s Sports Betting Intelligence Unit (SBIU), the IOC and the Metropolitan Police will be operating a Joint Assessment Unit during the period of the games to assess and investigate any allegations or suspicions of wrongdoing in regard to sports betting integrity.”
