International Olympic Committee will strictly monitor all betting patterns to avoid any gambling-related corruption. London 2012 is going to be the first event whose also qualifying events will be examined. IOC president Jacques Rogge has repeatedly warned of the danger to the integrity of the Olympic movement potentially posed by gambling. In particular Rogge’s fear is the threat that illegal bookmakers could attempt to corrupt athletes.
Unlike cricket, which is at the centre of a huge crisis following the alleged sport-fixing case regarding the test match between England and Pakistan, Olympic sports do not have a great tradition of gambling. Rogge compares the threat of gambling-related corruption to that posed by doping: “It is clear that betting, through the financial benefits it generates, provides huge opportunities to sports organisations. However, there is a significant problem when betting leads to the manipulation of competitions and therefore threatens the integrity of sport. Cheating driven by betting is undoubtedly the biggest threat to sport after doping”.
“For the sports movement it is crucial to develop a unified strategy and to collaborate closely with public authorities and the legal gambling industry. Only then will we be able to address efficiently this complex issue”. Therefore the IOC is pressing for all Olympic sports to adopt uniform codes of practice and rules in relation to betting. It wants all participants to be banned from betting on their sports, a ban on the sharing of ‘inside information’, and strict guidelines on commercial relationships with bookmakers.
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