SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
To commemorate today’s (15 April) EU Sport Integrity Day, European Lotteries (EL) has reaffirmed its commitment to fighting against match-fixing across the region.
The EL is the umbrella organisation that represents national lottery operators in more than 40 European countries. According to the organisation, in 2022 all money invested back into society by all of its members amounted to over €22bn – an 11% YoY growth.
To ensure that this flow of funds remains intact, the EL closely follows the implementation of integrity standards across licensed European sports betting markets.
The EL maintains that by effectively safeguarding sports ethics through its members, the essence of sport remains protected, alongside the public’s trust in it and the willingness of investors to push the sector forward.
This is done through close collaboration between the EL and relevant stakeholders such as the Council of Europe (CoE), United Lotteries for Integrity in Sports (ULIS), the World Lottery Association (WLA), and the European Sports NGO (ENGSO) – in accordance with the Macolin Convention, the only legally binding international treaty that promotes global cooperation against corruption in sports.
As a key body in the fight against match-fixing, the EL will participate in this week’s upcoming EU Sport Forum taking place from 16-17 April in Belgium with the goal of discussing various integrity and sustainability strategies together with European and international sports organisations.
The meeting comes at a pivotal moment thanks to this summer’s UEFA EURO 2024 tournament, which could be a target for bad actors due to its size and significance for the European market.
In fact, a recent Sportradar report has underlined Europe as the region most endangered by interferences with sport integrity, with the report picking up a total of 667 suspicious sports matches across a number of sports in 2023.
