UN report on illegal sports betting

More and more illegal bets and increasing willingness to corruption are going through global sport. The UN authority to combat crime (UNODC) has come to this finding in its latest report. In cooperation with almost 200 experts, this took a closer look at the dark sides of the sport and the betting industry. An estimated 1.5 trillion $ generated the global black market a year – the trend is rising.

Reasons for crime in sport

According to the UN report, corruption and illegal bets are by no means new to sport. they were Anchored deeply in history And would regularly attack the integrity of sport. However, the intensity of criminal energies has increased at scary speed in recent years. The resulting financial damage would now have accepted 1.5 trillion $ with an estimated dimensions that global sport should no longer simply accept.

die UNODC Together with the almost 200 experts, I was looking for the causes of the growing threat from illegal betting and corruption. In particular, globalization is decisive responsible for negative development. She goes hand in hand with quick networking and technological progress that uses organized crimes for his machinations.

But the sport itself also contributes to its part. He will be nowadays practiced differently and consumed. Criminal energies would benefit from this. In the past 20 years, global sport has been increasingly undermined by corruption and illegal bets. In no other decade is the “emergency” as acute as in the digital age.

Analysis ranges. The UNODC focused on different areas for its report and analyzed them together with the expert group. The role of illegal betting, abuse in sport and the susceptibility to corruption of major sports events were examined. In addition, game manipulations and the participation of organized crime were looked at in detail.

Digitization as a fire accelerator

Digitization was the pioneer for globalization, which in turn brought new social and economic opportunities. The internet still played and played a central role – also in the gambling industry. According to the UN report, illegal sports betting on the net in the past two years Experience enormous influx. Non-certified platforms, dodgy online bookmakers and meat attacks on legal providers are the order of the day. Accordingly, digitization is a fire accelerator for the downward spiral.

Obsession of the player community. Illegal activities on the Internet have always become brazen, perfidious and also “better” over the years. Users often have the problem of legally distinguishing from illegal. The US gambling authority “American Gaming Association” (AGA) also came to this finding. A survey from 2020 has shown that around 52 percent of the respondents bet on illegal providers. However, 82 percent of them had no idea that the offer used was illegal.

According to the UN report, illegal sports betting are more ideal Breeding ground for money laundering. This has developed into a global problem over time and, according to the experts, would cause a financial loss between 800 billion and $ two trillion.

Make the betting mafia

The rising Willingness to corruption in sport is due to the so -called betting mafia. Game manipulation As well as bribery of referees, players and officials, mostly go to the account of organized gangs that rely on large sums of money on the respective games and events.

The betting mafia has many faces. It usually acts decentralized, is usually in eastern regions And consists of umpteen different organizations. Reports, documentaries and investigative formats have recently tried the difficult topic and have encouraged interesting background information.

In American and European sport, Eastern European cartels primarily determine the market. For example, at the competition scandal around the former referee Robert Hoyzer, the Croatian betting mafia pulled the threads in the background. The system behind it is both simple and effective. It is based on an organized networkthat the people involved divide into three different areas of responsibility: sponsors, fixers and runner. They each provide the financial resources, improve people involved and place the corresponding bets.

Crime in sport. Criminal energies will probably be part of sport forever. However, according to the UN report, dealing with illegal sports betting, corruption and betting mafia urgently must be reformed. It is necessary to develop uniform and, above all, international practices in order to decisively combat crime and play manipulations. Only in this way is it possible to maintain the integrity of sport.