UK: Gambling Commission calls for cooperation between licensed betting operators

The Commission is working to uphold the integrity of sports betting in Britain. From 1 September 2007, it has had the powers to act where there is a risk to their licensing objectives which includes ensuring that betting is fair, open and crime-free.

The entity has consulted widely on possible further activity and in a paper published yesterday it concludes that more can be done to facilitate cooperation and shared understanding between betting operators and governing bodies.

Following this morning’s publication the Gambling Commission’s Director of Intelligence Andrew Rennison is speaking to the British Association for Sport and Law’s 15th Annual Sports Law Conference at Wembley Stadium on Thursday afternoon. Andrew Rennison said:

"The Commission wants to ensure that the sports governing bodies and the betting industry share sufficient information to be able to identify risks to the integrity of sports betting. To that end the Commission encourages the relevant parties to share knowledge and best practice. The Commission will keep a watching brief on any issues that emerge in integrity in sports betting.

"The Commission will continue to monitor the impact of the new law through its compliance and intelligence gathering functions but it is time for those involved to work together to maintain the integrity of sports betting."

The Commission calls on the betting industry and sporting bodies to improve their understanding of how each other’s industry operates and to share information relevant to integrity in sports betting; share knowledge and best practice on sports betting integrity; continue to provide evidence of incidents to the Commission that may impact on integrity in sports betting.