Some of Britain’s biggest online sportsbooks are continuing to offer odds on Ukrainian table tennis tournaments, despite confirmed reports of “widespread” match-fixing.
Suspicions about the integrity of some Ukrainian table tennis tournaments were reported a year ago, when it was one of the few live sports to continue through the pandemic, providing a rare opportunity for gamblers and bookmakers alike.
The tournaments, which have no live audience but are streamed online, appear to be little more than vehicles for betting. Little information is offered online about competitors, results are hard to verify and many of the competitors appear to be well below the standard of professional athletes.
The Table Tennis Federation of Ukraine (TTFU) this week announced it was forming a partnership with the Sport Integrity Team, an Italian organization that fights match-fixing, to “ensure that all organizers, players, umpires and officials involved in table tennis tournaments are clear on the standards which need to be upheld”.
Francesco Baranca, a consultant with the Sport Integrity Team, described the match-fixing as “widespread and very easy”, adding the problem had been around for years. “We started to see strange movements three or four years ago,” he said.
Baranca said they saw “much more fixing” during the pandemic, when it was one of the few sports still to be offered by bookmakers. “During the Covid period and after the Covid period, after general lockdown in March 2020, it was really crazy,” Baranca said.
He said tournaments such as the Setka Cup - match odds for which are still offered by gambling firms including Bet365 and MarathonBet - are easier to fix because “the level of competition is not so high, so the price of corruption is not so incredible”.
He added that the Ukrainian authorities “are never denying the problem exists and they are trying to solve it”. He believes the level of match-fixing “will decrease by 90% in six months” now that the authorities are actively seeking to stamp out the problem.
All bets are on
The question remains why gambling firms are continuing to offer odds on markets that are rife with match-fixing.
Suspicions of corruption within Ukrainian table tennis are not new. The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement instructed all of its sportsbooks to suspend betting on Ukrainian table tennis events last July, after warnings of potential match-fixing.
However, the British gambling authorities insist they still have no evidence that the online gambling firms are offering odds on corrupt events. A spokesperson for the country’s Gambling Commission said: “As we said previously, all operators are required to ensure gambling is conducted fairly and openly. Consumers must have confidence and belief that when they place bets with GB licensed-operators they are doing so on markets that are fair and open. Where we find evidence to suggest otherwise, we will take action.
“If you have any evidence that Gambling Commission licensed operators are knowingly offering markets on corrupt sporting events then please could you send us that information as soon as possible.”
Bet365 and MarathonBet have not returned requests for comment.
Sportsbooks Take Bets On Table Tennis Despite “Widespread” Match Fixing - Forbes
Read More
No comments:
Post a Comment