SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Victoria Police have called on Australian sporting bodies and integrity units to examine the threat of sport corruption in the region. Victoria Police called this urgent meeting in the wake of Operation Starling which disrupted an illegal gambling cartel targeting a suburban Australian Soccer club.
Experts monitoring international match fixing syndicates are warning authorities that corruption will undermine the quality of Australian sport.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club will warn a Victoria Police sports symposium tomorrow that crime gangs in Asia are now turning their attention to Australia for match fixing.It says if there are not safeguards in place corrupt Asian crime gangs will erode the the value of Australian sport for fans and broadcasters.
Canadian investigative journalist Decklin Hill is a keynote speaker at the symposium and says Australia is a target for Asia because of it’s proximity and time zone.
Hill Commentd “Look, I’m here to sound a very loud and clear warning bell: there is a tsunami of corruption going to hit Australian sport,Most Asian sports are now a graveyard of hopes, ideals and dreams. The match fixing linked to the Asian gambling networks have destroyed most Asian sports.
The Victoria Police sports integrity unit says spots corruption is one of the fastest growing crimes globally and already there is increasing international interest in the AFL.
