Online Casinos Courted by Soccer to Detect Gambling Fixes
As gambling fixes in sports becomes an increasing worry, FIFA, the international body governing soccer, has taken online casinos and bookmakers as partners in preventing future scandals. The creation of the Early Warning System, an organization whose sole purpose is to monitor soccer matches around the world to prevent gambling fixes, marks a step toward the future for sports and internet gambling.
Early Warning System takes betting patterns and observations from over two hundred bookmakers and online gambling sites, along with police reports and rumors from players and officials, and uses them all to track and thwart attempts to illegally control soccer results for wahering purposes.
Noting that online betting allows for live-action play, such as wagers on who will score the next goal or draw the next penalty, a FIFA spokesman stated, "We realized we had to be as sophisticated as the other side."
EWS takes into account the likely methods of would-be fixers: bribing goalies and defenders who can most easily cause an unexpected loss; placing heavy bets late, especially on underdogs; sudden swings in the quality of play; and odd or inexplicable referee calls.
EWS has clearly recognized that online casinos are not the enemy; rather, they have as much interest in an honest match as anyone. After all, it is the bookmakers who are the intended victims of fixes. Sports governing bodies and bookmakers working together is the best way to prevent thrown matches and dubious results. If the public has confidence the games are honest, gambling play rises along with fan participation, making everyone happier.
