The manipulation of the outcome or a specific incident within a sporting contest, typically achieved by bribing or coercing a player, official or team, in order to profit from betting on the predetermined result or simply to secure a competitive advantage. It has become a significant focus of dedicated criminal legislation and international cooperation since the 2000s, as the global growth of legal and illegal sports betting markets created a large financial incentive for manipulation, prompting bodies such as INTERPOL and national sports governing organizations to run joint integrity and investigation units. It is treated as a distinct offense from ordinary bribery because the object being corrupted is the outcome of a competitive event whose integrity the public and the betting market rely on.
Facts
Classification CodeIn England and Wales the 2010 Pakistan cricket spot-fixing scandal was prosecuted as a criminal conspiracy: on 1 November 2011 bookmaker Mazhar Majeed, Pakistan captain Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were found guilty of conspiracy to cheat at gambling and to accept corrupt payments, following investigations by the News of the World newspaper and Scotland Yard. 1 Typical PenaltyThe 2010 Pakistan cricket spot-fixing convictions carried both sporting and criminal penalties: the International Cricket Council banned Salman Butt for ten years, Mohammad Asif for seven and Mohammad Amir for five, and on 3 November 2011 the court handed down jail terms of 30 months for Butt, one year for Asif, six months for Amir and two years eight months for bookmaker Mazhar Majeed. 1 Elements of OffenseMatch fixing is the act of playing or officiating a sporting contest with the intention of achieving a predetermined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law; it includes point shaving and spot-fixing, which target smaller in-game events that can be wagered on but are unlikely to decide the final result, as well as competitors intentionally underperforming for a future competitive advantage such as a better draft pick. 1 Notable ExampleIn 2000 Delhi police intercepted a conversation between a blacklisted bookmaker and South African cricket captain Hansie Cronje that revealed Cronje had accepted money to throw matches; a court of inquiry followed, Cronje admitted to throwing matches and was banned from all cricket, and he named Pakistan's Saleem Malik and India's Mohammed Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja as fellow match fixers, with Jadeja banned for four years. 1 Jurisdiction VariationRegulatory response to match fixing varies by sport and jurisdiction: Major League Baseball enforces its own internal Rule 21, which prohibits players from betting on baseball and imposes a lifetime ban for betting on a player's own games, while the 2010 Pakistan cricket spot-fixing scandal was handled as an ordinary criminal prosecution in England and Wales resulting in prison sentences, alongside separate multi-year bans imposed by the International Cricket Council. 1 Classification
Offense GradeSerious or Indictable Offense 1 In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: Asia, found in there.
Sources
1. Match Fixing (Wikipedia)
Wikipedialead paragraph, first sentence
match fixing (also known as game fixing, race fixing, throwing, rigging, hippodroming, or more generally sports fixing) is the act of playing or officiating a contest with the intention of achieving a predetermined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law.
Motivations and causes section, Pakistan cricket conviction sentence
on 1 November 2011, Majeed, Pakistan's captain, Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were found guilty of conspiracy to cheat at gambling and to accept corrupt payments.
Motivations and causes section, sentencing sentence
On 3 November 2011, jail terms were handed down of 30 months for Butt, one year for Asif, six months for Amir and two years eight months for Majeed.
Cricket section, Hansie Cronje sentence
In 2000 the Delhi police intercepted a conversation between a blacklisted bookie and the South African cricket captain Hansie Cronje in which they learnt that Cronje accepted money to throw matches.
Cricket section (Rule 21), MLB Rule 21 sentence
MLB Rule 21 prohibits players from participating in any form of betting on baseball games, and a lifetime ban for betting on a player's own games.
View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.