EUROPOL uncovers largest match-fixing scandal in Europe

The European Lotteries (EL), the umbrella organisation of national lotteries operating games of chance for the public benefit, calls for a new intensification of the cooperation between all the parties involved: national governments, international organisations, sport organisations and the police, in order to respond to the ever-growing problem of match-fixing.

EL’s members offer sport betting in 23 out of 27 EU Member States and comprise five of the six biggest land-based sport betting operators in Europe. They strictly confine their activities to the national jurisdictions in which they are licensed. EL’s members contribute more than 2 billion euros per year to sport, in particular grassroots sport. They are the historic partners of sport and have consistently been defending the European sport model against threats from match-fixing and other criminal activities and calling for further measures to protect sport integrity.

EL President Friedrich Stickler: “The successful investigation conducted by Europol once again demonstrates that sport in Europe is threatened by wide and deep networks working with criminal organisations. The time has come for all parties involved: sport, national governments, international organisations, the law-abiding gambling operators and the police forces to intensify our cooperation to fight match-fixing. Our association, which has always been leading in the fight against match-fixing, is today once again reaching out to our partners to intensify our cooperation stronger than ever.”

EL has reiterated throughout the years that match-fixing is a threat to the integrity of sport and has led the fight against match-fixing in recent years. In line with the historic link between lotteries and sport, EL has committed to following clear rules for sports sponsoring and enhancing the structural partnership with the sports movement.

EL was the first umbrella organisation to adopt a Code of conduct on sports betting. Its code of conduct has been continuously updated since its adoption in 2007, both through the dialogue established between EL and others in the sport movement and also through its accumulated experience in monitoring with the ELMS – European Lotteries Monitoring System. Most recently, EL has adopted an ambitious Sport Charter containing further commitments. EL works hand in hand with other organisations, for example with the IRIS research institute and SportAccord, ENGSO and Sport et Citoyenneté through a new European project exploring the possible national networks in the EU to fight match-fixing.

EL believes that the fight against all forms of corruption needs to go hand in hand with strong rules regarding the integrity of sport such as the implementation of well-defined, properly regulated and strict conditions for sports betting services. EL also calls, notably, for a provision of match-fixing as a criminal offense in the national legislations of the Member States as well as at European level.

The association finally asks for strict rules or prohibition, after an evaluation conducted at the level of each of the Member States, for the forms of gambling that are the most dangerous in terms of specific risks in terms of fraud, money laundering and addiction.