FIFA Revises Ethics Code
The Ethics and Sportsmanship Commission of FIFA decided at a meeting in Zurich Feb. 15 that it should revise the Ethics Code to regulate all the activities related to sportsbooks, which will be applied to players, agents, associations and clubs.
At its meeting March 16 in Zurich, the Commission approved the report compiled by the Task Force for the Good of the Game, which will now be submitted to the Congress in Munich on 7-8 June 2006 for ratification.
Betfair Odds and Ends
Despite a recent media report to the contrary, online betting exchange Betfair says it has offered major Australian sporting bodies product fees and access to betting information on events it covers.
"Claims reported in one media outlet today that Betfair offers no returns to the sports whose events it covers, are completely false," Betfair Director of Corporate and Business Affairs Andrew Twaits said. "Betfair has led the way on this initiative, and it is quite wrong to suggest otherwise."
Phase 1 of the agreement has Betfair sharing all information (including customer details) relating to betting on sporting events held under the sponsorship of a COMPS member. In Phase 2, Betfair will pay the relevant COMPS member a percentage of its gross revenue on any Australian sporting event that is sponsored by the relevant COMPS member. . . .
In other Betfair news, the company will submit its application to publish Victorian race fields to Racing Victoria (RVL) this week. It was denied in November after Section 2.5.16A of the Gambling Regulation Act 2003, which prohibits unauthorized use of racing data, became operational.
"We are putting together our final touches to our application to Racing Victoria," Twaits said. "We are optimistic, now that we are licensed, that we will be given approval. There is a strong argument that the racing fields legislation is not effective but we are looking at having a positive relationship with the racing bodies now that we are licensed in Australia."
And in still more Betfair news, Twaits has warned that gambling-related corruption poses a greater risk to sport than drugs and steroids and is calling for legislative reforms that should cover all participants, including punters, gambling operators, athletes and officials, to guarantee the integrity of sports events.
"The whole world supports the notion of testing and transparency when it comes to drugs," Twaits said."Why not sports betting?"
He further proposed 100-point identity checks for all customers and well as statutes to prevent connections from betting against their own teams.
German Match Fixing
Former Borussia Dortmund player Steffen Karl, who received a nine-month suspended sentence after being convicted of accepting a bribe in Germany's match-fixing scandal, was named coach of fifth-division club, VfB Fortuna Chemnitz, March 14.
Karl pleaded guilty to accepting A18, 000 (US$21,000) from a Croatian gambler…
The investigation into Bayern Munich and 1860 Munich soccer club players in Germany's match-fixing scandal was dropped today after Munich's chief district attorney failed to find enough relevant information to build a case. The players were also cleared of charges of betting on their own team's matches. The DA's office also dropped an investigation of betting agencies allegedly involved in match-fixing.
In Frankfurt, however, the DA's office said it was looking into two second division players believed to be involved in the scandal.
Belgium Match Fixing
A key suspect in Belgium's soccer match-fixing case was held without bail March 21 after being charged with forgery and making threats, and was released three days later.
Agent Pietro Allatta turned himself in March 20 after an international arrest warrant was issued against him. He was released on March 24, but he still faces charges.
Authorities on March 23 charged another agent with corruption relating to the case after the unidentified suspect admitted trying to bribe two players in the Belgian league to lose a game for a gambling syndicate.
Vietnam Match Fixing
According to Vietnamese newspaper Thanh Nien (which translates to Young People), local journalists were threatened and roughed up last week by unidentified groups of young men while covering a high-profile corruption scandal involving illegal soccer bets made by a senior government official.
Bui Tien Dung, the former general director in charge of a unit that managed several major infrastructure projects, was arrested in January on charges of placing bets worth some US$7 million on European soccer matches.
The newspaper said one of the incidents occurred while reporters tried to photograph two executives who were arrested in connection with the case
The assailants reportedly also tried to block journalists from taking pictures of Vice Transport Minister Nguyen Viet Tien when he arrived for questioning at the police station.
"There is a possibility that there is a shady force that hired the mobs to manhandle and prevent journalists from doing their jobs," said Tien Thanh, deputy editor of the Doi Song Phap Luat (Life and Law) newspaper.
The Hanoi police department has now reportedly made plans to provide protection to journalists covering the case.
Vietnam authorities on March 24 arrested Nguyen Mau Thon, former Hanoi police officer and chairman of a private construction company, and Luong Manh Hoa, a driver, in connection with a multimillion-dollar betting scandal surrounding European soccer matches.
The two allegedly worked as middlemen who offered more than US$60,000 (A49,770) in bribes to officials in an attempt to help Dung,.
PokerStars Sponsors Racing
PokerStars.com teamed up with Aston Martin Racing this month and on March 18 both of the team's Aston Martin DBR9 racing cars carried a special PokerStars.com livery at the start the 54th annual Sebring endurance race held at the Sebring International Raceway in Florida.
Sportingbet Sponsors Euroleague
London-based online sportsbook Sportingbet signed a contract in March to sponsor Euroleague Basketball through the end of the 2008-2009 season. Euroleague Basketball consists of teams from 13 countries including Italy, Spain and Lithuania.
The deal provides Sportingbet with exposure to over 40 broadcasting stations across Europe.