International Olympic Committee IOC partnership for Betfair

IOC partnership for Betfair
1/16/2012


Online casino and betting exchange operator Betfair has signed a memorandum of understanding with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that will see the pair exchange data regarding irregular or suspicious betting patterns during this summer’s London Olympic Games.


According to a report from the BBC, the agreement means that the IOC will be able to request the identities as well as other betting transaction details of Betfair account holders who may have wagered suspiciously.


Betfair signed a similar memorandum of understanding with the IOC for the Olympic Games in Beijing four years ago and stated that the London Olympic Games will be its biggest ever market to date as it is to offer odds on every single gold medal event.


The operator revealed that it will use in-house developed specialised software alongside and a team of ‘integrity experts’ to help identify potentially suspicious transactions before subsequently passing this information to the IOC.


“The interests of sports’ governing bodies like the IOC and Betfair are completely aligned in wanting to ensure consumers can bet on sporting events in a transparent and secure manner,” said Martin Cruddace, Chief Legal and Regulatory Affairs Officer for London-based Betfair.


Hugh Robertson, Minister for Sport and Olympics, told The Sunday Times newspaper earlier this month that match-fixing had overtaken doping as the biggest threat to the integrity of the Olympics. 


He revealed that the Government Olympic Committee, which is a division within the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, has established a specialist team to monitor suspicious betting patterns and share intelligence on those who may be attempting to bribe athletes into fixing events.


“You cannot underestimate the threat this poses because the moment that spectators start to feel that what they are seeing is not a true contest that is when spectators stop turning up and the whole thing turns to pieces,” Robertson told The Sunday Times.