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Former two-time UK Shadow Gambling Minister Nick Hawkins sorts the wheat from the chaff in his bi-monthly column...
In early May, just before this column was due to be drafted, a part of the Daily Telegraph’s Sport section (more widely-read and more influential than most UK sports journalism, as it is usually serious and usually accurate) had the headline “MPs launch inquiry into gambling”. This is all part of a special Telegraph spread on match-fixing allegations (and in some cases sadly admitted guilt) across Europe. For those who didn’t see the story, two Zambian players had pleaded guilty in a Finnish court to fixing matches, and it was Interpol tracking the alleged major international match-fixer that led to the arrests. Nine players (seven Zambian, two from Georgia) from another Finnish team have been arrested – and the alleged fixer (from Singapore) was under observation by police before his arrest for some considerable time, apparently. It is said that Finnish football is particularly vulnerable as the players are relatively low-paid, and the games are in what for most other countries is the “off-season” – when Asian betting markets are desperate for some sport (especially football) to bet on. There is a quote than amounts of ‘in-play betting’ on a minor match in Finland now thought to have been targeted by the fixer(s) was “insane”.
In other countries in Europe there have recently been discovered such abuses as a seriously bent, corrupt referee, as well as more allegations against players.
Why does all this matter to readers who may say “we don’t do Sports Betting, so this isn’t our problem-we’re only a (casino/ or machine operator/ or arcade operator / or poker and blackjack only or…)”?
It matters because to the vast majority of politicians in Governments worldwide – but especially here in the UK – legislators and the regulators they appoint and the officials who advise and who draft new laws, all of this just goes into the pot marked “Gambling”.
Those of us who are involved in the public affairs as well as regulatory and legal side of the Gambling industry, desperately wanted the UK Parliament’s Department of Culture Media and Sport Select Committee to be doing a serious review of the shortcomings of the 2005 Gambling Act, and the opportunity to rewrite so it can be better. That might still happen, as the DCMS Select Committee is chaired by my old friend and political contemporary John Whittingdale MP, who I worked particularly closely with, during the very long-drawn-out and unusual Committee Stage – the clause-by-clause and line-by-line scrutiny (unusual because the Government took the Bill away and rewrote the large and crucial casino sections half-way through the Committee, which was unprecedented!). At that time John was Shadow Secretary of State for DCMS. He and I and one or two others probably know that legislation better than anyone, and John and I spent hours pointing out the flaws!
However, all this match-fixing means there are more headlines for those who want to subsume this serious scrutiny in a wider “match-fixing exists in Sport so we can have a go at all Gambling as corrupt” jamboree for the select Committee. The opponents of the whole industry, such as the Salvation Army, will have a field day if that happens! DCMS Select Committee member, Labour MP Paul Farrelly (who I used to play a lot of rugby with, in charity matches for the Lords and Commons XV), is already quoted in the Telegraph feature as saying match-fixing will be part of the Select Committee enquiry.
The whole industry must prepare very carefully for this Enquiry.
Finally, on racing-still, on the day I write this, no decision on the Tote! However, the issue made the Radio 4 Today programme this morning – Fred Done of the eponymous BetFred giving a splendid interview as to why his bid would be good for racing – and saying he had no idea why other racing figures were quoted as saying they preferred Sir Martin Broughton’s rival consortium.
Perhaps, by the time you read this, we’ll finally know… What I do know is, I had a wonderful community race day at Wetherby two weeks back: a great success despite rain that night, more please (and I came out ahead!).
