Online Casino Alerts Wimbledon of Suspicious Sports Betting
Online casino operator Betfair notified the Integrity Unit of the International Tennis Federation that betting patterns on a first-round match at Wimbledon far exceeded normal patterns. Betting on Austrian Jurgen Melzer of Austria, playing against Wayne Odesnik of the US, reached ten times the expected level for an early match.
Acting in accordance with agreements between European online gambling companies and European sports leagues, Betfair tracked almost a million dollars wagered on Melzer. Normal sports betting for early matches at Wimbledon is a little more than $100,000.
Betfair spokesman Mark Davies says the betting surge on the Austrian is apparently due to comments by a television announcer, revealing an injury to Odesnik. Davies says no evidence of match-fixing has been found.
''It's being reported as potential corruption, but I don't see it that way at all,'' said Davies. He noted that Betfair advances all pertinent information, leaving interpretation and review to the appropriate sports authorities.
ITF and Wimbledon officials had no comment on the story. ITF Integrity Unit personnel said there is a policy against commenting on open investigations.
The incident highlights a dramatic difference in philosophy between US and European sports organizations. While US leagues insist sports betting remain illegal so as to prevent public concern about corruption, European associations realize the public knows gambling will occur one way or another, and support legal, regulated sports books that help prevent actual match-fixing.
