Match-fixing has surged at an 'extraordinary' rate worldwide, with organised crime networks now infiltrating sports such as chess and darts, the House of Lords International Agreements Committee heard on Thursday. The committee was taking evidence as part of its scrutiny of the Macolin Convention, the first international treaty on manipulation of sports competitions, which the UK signed in 2018 but has only recently brought forward for parliamentary ratification.
Former footballer warns of technology gap
Moses Swaibu, a former Crystal Palace academy player who was jailed for his role in a match-fixing scandal while at Bromley in 2013 and now campaigns against the issue, told the committee that authorities have failed to keep pace with prediction markets and new technologies. 'In the time of our match-fixing, technology was nowhere near where it is today,' said Swaibu, founder of Game Changer 360, a company focused on sports integrity education. He also runs integrity workshops for the Football Association, compulsory for top-flight academies. 'The new match-fixers are in plain sight and law enforcement have not been able to grasp what that advancement looks like. I honestly believe it has got worse. In my experience, from the past and now, athletes are not aware of the rules. They do not know what the Macolin Convention is. There is no social media or awareness. Match-fixing is getting younger and the solutions are old and outdated. There is much more to be done.'
Organised crime and globalisation
Dr Madalina Diaconu, a sports integrity specialist who serves on Uefa's control, ethics and disciplinary body and has worked for the International Olympic Committee, emphasised the need for international cooperation. 'In the last 20-something years there has been a certain increase in the phenomenon of match-fixing. It is getting worse in the sense that the phenomenon is amplifying and we are now facing globalised trade and an extraordinary increase in online exchanges. It is possible to access these services now from anywhere and at any age,' she said. 'It has become an increasing problem. It is also changing in nature. Fifteen years ago I would have said football, cricket and tennis are the sports most affected by this and the most deregulated markets would be the Asian markets. Nowadays I would say all sports are concerned. We have seen match-fixing scandals in sports that were much less susceptible to this kind of phenomena like darts or chess or skiing, and it is also happening everywhere, not only in Asia or Europe.'
Diaconu added: 'We know for a fact that organised crime syndicates are behind a large number of match-fixing schemes. It is quite logical because match-fixing offers a golden opportunity for organised crime syndicates to easily access this market and to gain from high profits immediately. More importantly for some crime syndicates, they can also launder the illegal proceeds of even more serious crimes such as drug trafficking and human trafficking, especially of young girls.'
Rise in suspicious matches
Committee member Lord Boateng noted a 92% rise in recorded suspicious football matches in Africa, with increased online sports betting in North and Central America also fuelling the problem. However, Dr Diaconu expressed confidence in the Macolin Convention. 'I believe the Macolin Convention does work and has the potential to be a game-changer on the field. Each country that participates has to set up a national hub, a centralised database if you like, where all the necessary information is stored and is available live. Belgium and Spain have ratified the convention and there have been very successful operations in those two countries lately, with the help of Europol and Interpol, where large Mafia syndicates were taken down. These syndicates were responsible for thousands of match-fixing events throughout the world and the Belgium police and Spanish police were able to use the instruments of the convention and put everyone behind bars.'
