SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Betting industry body ESSA, has welcomed the European Parliament’s approved a joint motion for a resolution promoting the adoption of good governance practices in sport to protect it from the adverse impacts of corruption and fraud, including money laundering and match-fixing.
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) agreed the joint motion for a resolution following the recent revelations of alleged high-profile corruption at senior levels in FIFA, the worldwide governing body for football, and have underlined the need for all international sports organisations to have transparent, accountable and democratic structures in place.
Highlighting the importance of good governance principles to the integrity of sport and in preventing corruption, MEPs stressed that:
“corruption and money laundering are intrinsically linked and a large number of Member States have been affected by match-fixing and other financial crimes often related to criminal organisations operating on an international scale”.
ESSA Chairman Mike O’Kane welcomed the European Parliament’s stand against corruption in sport and the associated negative impacts on regulated betting companies and consumers who are the victims of related fraud such as match-fixing, stating that: “ESSA has campaigned for some years on the importance of establishing transparent and accountable governance in sport as a fundamental measure to protect the integrity of sporting events.”
“Corrupters will continue to prey on sports with poor governance and financial management structures, which is unfortunately widespread within the sector. ESSA supports the position of the European Parliament that ‘if not addressed urgently and properly, corruption may continue to undermine trust in sports institutions and threaten the integrity of sport as a whole’ and will also continue to weaken the fight against match-fixers”, O’Kane continued.
