Illicit Internet Gambling Monitored By IOC

Match fixing’s occurrence has always been a headache in any major sporting event, hence the reason the International Olympic Committee is on guard against the possibility of a match fixing scandal.  Soccer has been the sport most likely to be affected during the Olympic Games of match fixing, of late the IOC has vowed that this activity will be rooted out of their International events in future.

An International Sports Monitoring arm has been set up by the IOC to stay abreast and informed in the hope that this type of scandal could be side stepped.  ISM will keep close tabs on any gambling trends, in the event there is an unusual increase in bets, it would be reported to the IOC instantly for further investigation.

“IOC President, Jacques Rogge said, “Match fixing is a reality and could transpire within the Olympic Games at any time at Sunday’s news meeting. This is the main reason why we have setup a company that has monitored the Beijing and Vancouver games.”

As the old saying goes “prevention is better than cure”, Rogge stressed, the IOC needs to be top of its game if it is to avoid any match fixing scandal/s within the Olympic Games in future.  Rogge also pointed out, as a result of the ever increasing pressure on athletes/organizations to perform, monetary issues have increased substantially as well and we need to keep close tabs on these too.

Another area of concern is the doping issue and this has increased dramatically during the last two decades of Olympic events.   Past athletes who have won medals at the Olympics medals have been stripped after finding out they were guilty of taking illegal substances, also called performance enhancing drugs to increase their winning possibilities.  Rogge is adamant to avoid any form of gambling scandal/s before it reaches doping levels.

European soccer has always been plagued by match fixing, in the US gambling scandals have predominately taken place in sports such as pro baseball and basketball.  The most recent match fixing scandal to hit newspaper headlines in the U.S was by ex- NBA umpire Tim Donaghy, he was found guilty for his involvement in gambling on games he was refereeing.

The 2012 Olympic Games in London will be monitored by ISM.  The United Kingdom is the centre of internet sports betting in Europe, therefore measures will be beefed up to dissect any potential spike/s in betting patterns at the London Games.