Reliable Insights: The Unvarnished Truth
Exploring the Delicate Balance: The Influence of Game-Rigging on the Purity of Sports Wagering
Sports Betting's Unstable Foundation: With match-fixing on the rise, the trust foundation of the sports betting industry is teetering.
Technology Dilemma: Groundbreaking technology like ProhiBet is a valuable ally in combating illegal bets, but it's not the silver bullet that ends the problem.
Legislation and Enlightenment: Strengthening laws and increasing awareness among all involved parties, right down to stadium employees, are vital for maintaining the sports betting industry's integrity.
If you've ever dabbled in sports betting, you've no doubt heard some wild stories about match-fixing. Consider this example—a former hockey pro who sold a hefty paycheck to a bookie to ease his debt woes. Then there are the umpires who delayed inputting match info into a global database, granting betting criminals a brief window to place their illegal bets on points they'd just seen played. Don't forget about the rigged soccer matches—pick one, any one.
These anecdotes were the hot topic at the Canadian Gaming Summit, a three-day annual gathering held in Toronto, where it just so happened the event started as the media broke news about the Jontay Porter sports betting scandal that led the NBA to permanently ban the player back in April.
The summit was quite the cheerful affair—gamblers tend to be optimistic types, after all, and if you're in the gambling trade, chances are you've got a gamble's heart. But as some chuckled over the scandals, there was a sense of graveyard whispers. During a Thursday panel discussion about maintaining sports betting's integrity, Scott Vanderwel, CEO of PointsBet Canada, summed up the issue succinctly: "Sports betting is all about trust. Without integrity, there's no trust."
Afterward, the CEO of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) commented on the Porter matter during a previous panel. "We'll see more and more of these problems," she acknowledged, stating that regulation assists in the spotting of issues via data sharing. "What's really reassuring is that we're catching the problems as they occur."
Sure, I countered, but what about the ones we simply can't catch?
"I can't speak to the unknown number of incidents that we're not catching," she replied. An answer that, while fair, doesn't inspire much reassurance for bettors or concerned sports fans wondering if the games they adore have been compromised—regardless of whether they bet on them or not.
All four major North American men's pro leagues have disciplined or banned players as a result.
Many believe AI could be the solution, analyzing vast datasets for irregularities, but others argue that the crooks will just stay one step ahead of the law, using high-tech tools.
Nevertheless, technology is helping in the fight. During the Thursday panel, Sebastian Jedrzejewski, director of regulatory affairs for IC360, described his company's product, ProhiBet, a software tool that enables leagues and sportsbooks to share lists of individuals who shouldn't be making certain bets, such as coaches and players. The software prevents the bet from even being made. Think of it like a milder version of the precrime system from Minority Report, but instead of predicting and preventing crimes, athletes are flagged for further training on acceptable practices. Most significantly, since the bets aren't placed, athletes' careers don't suffer.
Colleges have expressed positive experiences with the system. "There's no suspension, no scholarship loss, no issues," Jedrzejewski said. A promising development, but he then added a staggering statistic: "Last year, there were about 100 prohibited bettor suspensions worldwide that were publicly reported. So far this year, with just our college client uptake, we've had 200 alerts in May alone."
While technology can help, it's no panacea. Legislation and global co-operation may be this solution's unsung heroes. Currently, match-fixing itself isn't a crime in Canada (nor in many countries worldwide). The Canadian Gaming Association (CGA), representing most of the industry, supports making match-fixing illegal. Similar sentiments come from the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, a non-profit dedicated to promoting ethical conduct in sports, which offers education to tens of thousands of athletes about the dangers of match-fixing and sports betting.
Some would even like to see an attempt to induce an athlete to engage in match-fixing become illegal, as it's believed that many athletes are financially vulnerable, making them easy targets for underhanded offers.
In March, the CCES petitioned the federal government to join the Macolin Convention, an international treaty outlawing match-fixing. However, implementation can take years. First, each province and territory must establish a regulated sports betting market. So far, only Ontario has taken that step. This week, Alberta Minister of Service and Red Tape Reduction, Dale Nally, announced that his province plans to follow Ontario's lead in enabling sports betting, but a timeline wasn't provided.
Fixing this fragile system will require addressing multiple vulnerabilities. At the end of the Thursday discussion, a spectator asked a question that needed answering: "Are stadium employees educated?" Even a theoretical scenario about a player vomiting in front of Roger Centre staff, and potential misuses of that information, highlights the necessity of considering education for all stadium staff. "That's an interesting point," the moderator acknowledged. "We can explore that further, as there's no requirement for such education at this time."
Sports-betting's integrity is largely dependent on general-news and crime-and-justice reports, as they often expose match-fixing activities that could potentially undermine the industry. Despite technological advancements like ProhiBet, the issue of match-fixing remains complex, with concerns about criminals staying one step ahead of the law.
