SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
DGOJ, the Gambling Directorate of Spain, continues to strengthen the sports integrity provisions of the ‘SIGMA programme’ against match-fixing and sports manipulations.
As announced this week, the DGOJ has launched a ‘notification portal on sports manipulations’ co-developed with SIGMA partner CONFAD – Spain’s network of pro-sports stakeholders combatting match-fixing and criminality in sports.
The notification portal will serve as a whistle-blower service to the public and those working in Spanish sports to report sports manipulation and betting fraud to authorities, enhancing SIGMA’s transparency and fairness in sports.
The SIGMA programme was launched in November 2023 by the DGOJ and CONFAD to enhance the detection of threats to Spanish pro-sports. The programme is supported by La Liga, The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), and the Guardia Civil (federal police).
The principal objectives of SIGMA include enhancing data and information requests between the Spanish sports associations, federal authorities, and the DGOJ – “SIGMA focuses on detecting and analysing anomalies in betting to support investigations. The presentation highlighted successful collaborations between stakeholders combatting sports manipulations”.
Last year, the DGOJ and CONFAD secured legal rights from the Supreme Court of Justice to launch a whistleblower service as a key initiative of the SIGMA programme.
As detailed to the media, “The portal provides information on CONFAD’s functions, activities, and regulations against sports manipulation, allowing citizens to report suspicions of sports rigging or betting fraud, actively contributing to maintaining sports integrity.”
In wider affairs, the DGOJ continues with its consultation of new player protection measures desired by the “Royal Decree on Responsible Gambling Environments”.
As approved by the Senate, the DGOJ and Ministry of Consumer Affairs have been authorised to implement Europe’s most stringent surveillance of licensed gambling operators.
The Decree demands that Spanish gambling implement “a joint system to track deposits made by a player across various operators where they have accounts. The goal is to prevent players from exceeding a designated deposit limit within a specified timeframe.”
