Past Initiatives

There have been numerous initiatives by different actors at an international, European and national level. There have been numerous projects seeking to raise awareness about the risks related to match-fixing (some of the projects have been funded by the EU), some early warning systems have been created by both betting operators and the sports movement, while at the same time police also got active in the field.

Driven by their core values Lotteries has been extremely active in this fight for sports integrity and have taken concrete measures over the last 10 years. Of course, GLMS, EL and WLA fully support the Council of Europe Convention and in fact has recently joined the project “Keep Crime out of Sport – KCOOS” of the Council of Europe, which seeks to promote the Convention and support states with the implementation of its provisions.

Education and prevention is the easiest but probably most efficient way to fight against the phenomenon. Match-fixing is a threat for all sports, all athletes, officials, etc. This is why it is really important and crucial that educational programmes reach out to all athletes and relevant stakeholders. EL along with the WLA already from 2011 to 2015 collaborated with SportAccord about the creation of a Global Programme on Sports Integrity. This programme was one of the first ones of this kind and on a global level. Thanks to this programme and the e-learning that was created, many athletes were informed about the relevant risks and through the multi-sports competitions of SportAccord this programme was further disseminated.

Most importantly, EL actively participated in the IRIS project “What national networks in the EU against match-fixing” which supported the creation of national networks in 22 Member-states of the EU. In many countries it was the first time stakeholders from different areas received this information and actually found themselves in the same table. Through these national workshops (which actually paved the way for national platforms under article 13 of the Convention), the Council of Europe Convention was also promoted in all countries.

EL in 2016 also joined a strong network of partners, led by the Council of Europe, in the project Keep Crime out of Sport – KCOOS. The objective of this initiative was to promote the Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sport Competitions, as well as to support states with the implementation of its key provisions. As part of the projects there was a number of regional seminars, study visits and expert missions, in which states had the chance to collect and disseminate best practices.