Game On, Inside Australian Sport Integrity Protection

“Sport Integrity Australia’s mission is to keep Australian sport safe and fair,” said Jason Whybrow, Director, Sports Wagering and Competition Manipulation, Sport Integrity Australia.

As Member of the IFHA Council on Anti-illegal Betting and Related Crime, Sport Integrity Australia was established as a national response to threats posed to the integrity of Australian sport.

‘Safe and fair at all levels, for all participants,’ it’s a partner agency for many Council members to outline important Australian initiatives that are useful to those interested in protecting sport.

At the international level, there’s been a huge growth in sports wagering, particularly in Asia due to the time zone, making wagering on Australian sports attractive in both legal and illegal markets.

Timing of Australian sports events with prime viewing time and the quality of the sporting products, including racing events, makes markets favoured by customers in Asia open to corruption.

To develop a National Sport Plan to address the evolving threats to the integrity of sport, the Australian Government met the challenges of the manipulation of sports competitions and doping.

Combined with the commercial value of sport and the growth in sports wagering, led the Australian Government to call for The Wood Review of Australia’s Sports Integrity Arrangements.

In developing a National Sport Plan, the Report of the Review of Australia’s Sports Integrity Arrangements was presented in March 2018 making 52 recommendations across five key themes –

A stronger response to match-fixing
Enhancing the regulation of sports wagering to improve the integrity outcomes
Enhancing Australia’s anti-doping capability
The development of a National Sports Tribunal
The development of a National Sports Integrity Commission.

Australian Government Response

On 12 February 2019, the Australian Government supported the Wood Review, and in founding the Sport Integrity Australia to ensure sports will continue to be clean, fair, safe and inclusive.

Criminal Offences for Sport Corruption

Sport Integrity Australia is leading the process to establish national match-fixing offences in relevant criminal provisions introduced by state and territory governments, with the offences to ensure –

Offence provisions have transnational application
Match-fixing offences are linked to wagering outcomes, irrespective of whether said wager would have been otherwise lawful
Provisions include offences for the use of inside information
Offence provisions, including for sentencing, are calibrated to reflect the serious nature of the offending, such as to enliven the possibility of utilising telecommunication intercept powers
Be proportional to the level of criminality, considering the additional regulatory responses such as the civil actions available to sport organisations.

The offences will be designed to capture –

Corrupting a sporting event
Altering, destroying, or concealing corrupt conduct information
Use or communication of corrupt conduct information
Use or communication of inside information
Giving a bribe
Accepting a bribe
Possession of corrupt conduct information

Ratification of the Macolin Convention

The Australian Government is in the process of ratifying the Council of Europe’s Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions, a legal framework for international cooperation –

Provide a constitutional head of power to Sport Integrity Australia to regulate sport integrity of gambling regulatory environment, through enhanced Australian sports wagering scheme
Enhance domestic and international cooperation to better prevent, detect, and sanction national or transnational manipulation of national and international sports competitions.

Future Outlook and Conclusion

In 2023, the illegal offshore betting market was over $1.1 billion and costing the Australian economy approximately $1.3 billion in lost taxes and a further $1.6 billion loss to racing and sports bodies.

These borderless and multi-jurisdictional crimes require a coordinated network to deter, disrupt and prevent these practices, and Sport Integrity Australia’s commitment to safeguarding sport integrity.

The expansion of these networks and their capabilities are vital to disrupting illicit activities, and welcomes IFHA members sharing resources and learnings among your sport contacts and networks.

Sport Integrity Australia’s tagline ‘protecting sport together’ is a call to action for all those with an interest in maintaining integrity, fairness and safety in sport for everyone at all levels.