As the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and the UEFA EURO 2024 approach, representatives of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and UEFA convened to discuss the integrity of sports betting.
The workshop was held on April 11 at Olympic House in Lausanne and allowed the two organizations to align their approaches to sports betting entities. The event was also attended by operators and international federations who shared their experiences and used the opportunity to acquire new insights.
The first part of the day featured a presentation by the Olympic Movement Unit on the Prevention of the Manipulation of Competitions (OM Unit PMC) and UEFAβs Anti-Match-Fixing Unit that highlighted the organizationsβ strategies for detecting fraud. Several participating betting operators also commented on their efforts in tackling irregularities.
Collaboration Is Essential to Protecting the Sector
According to Friedrich Martens, head of the OM Unit PMC, collaboration is essential to cracking down on fraud. Because of this, he vowed to work together with operators, regulators and associations and exchange relevant information about suspicious betting patterns and activities.
The main objective is to ensure robust 24/7 monitoring of the competition to complement our dedicated prevention and education programme for all participating athletes and officials.
Friedrich Martens, head, OM Unit PMC
This collaboration would also allow the OM Unit PMC to learn if an accredited person has violated the Olympicsβ rules by placing a wager on the event. Martens added that all information received by his unit is centralized on the IBIS platform.
Vincent Ven, UEFAβs head of anti-match-fixing, echoed Martensβ words, urging workshop participants to reinforce cross-sector cooperation. He explained:
Sport alone cannot eradicate match-fixing. We must work together β raising awareness, sharing information, ensuring robust prevention and detection systems are in place β to protect sport and athletes.
Vincent Ven, head of anti-match-fixing, UEFA
Ven added that his team in Germany will be working with betting integrity entities, operators, regulators, national organizations and authorities to protect the integrity of the upcoming UEFA EURO 2024.
The organizations concluded that their goal is to ensure robust 24/7 monitoring of the competition, complementing the dedicated prevention and education program. Ven added that the Anti-Match-Fixing Assessment Group will manage pre- and in-tournament monitoring.
During the afternoon part of the event, participants had the chance to participate in interactive breakout sessions and delve deeper into possible collaboration models between sports-related entities.