Our law on corruption in sport dates back to 1976. At the time it was one of the pioneering laws on sports corruption. Most of the larger European countries enacted similar laws a long time after ours was in place.
The law has served its purpose for more than 40 years. Cheaters have been convicted by our criminal courts and handed punishments that have sent a strong message across the country. However, the criminal offence of sports manipulation has evolved dramatically, particularly in the last 10 years. Nowadays, corruption in sport not only occurs by bribing an opponent to earn some championship victory or to avoid relegation, but has taken on a much bigger financial dimension.
This is due to technological advances and easier access to online betting. This is not to say that corruption takes place because of betting. On the contrary, gaming companies are defrauded out of millions of euros every year due to the manipulation of the betting markets, with the production of odds that do not reflect the real outcome of a particular event. This has made this criminal offence a very easy and popular vehicle by which international criminal organisations launder money.
Over the past 10 years, hundreds of athletes and their families, particularly in Europe and Asia, have fallen victim to threats and violence committed by these criminal organisations, in an attempt to coerce them into throwing away matches to defraud the betting market. This has become a major problem in a number of countries across Europe, particularly those where professional sport is not as wealthy as in the larger states. It is easier to manipulate sporting events in which not a lot of money is in circulation.
International governmental and sports organisations have been dealing with the problem by boosting educational programmes aimed at preventing athletes from falling into this trap, mainly targeting youths and children.
We all have a duty to defend the integrity of our sportsmen and women and punish severely those who are using sport for illicit aims
Heavy investment has also gone into monitoring irregular betting movements before and during sporting events. Both public authorities and sport governing bodies have improved the investigation of match-fixing and sports fraud. Efforts have also been made to ensure that adequate criminal and other sanctions are applied to athletes, coaches, officials and sports administrators.
The crimes are getting more serious: in a few more years the turnover generated from sports fraud globally is expected to surpass that made from any other criminal activity, including drug and human trafficking.
Malta is not immune to this problem. In the recent past, numerous athletes and officials, particularly in football, have been found guilty of match-fixing by a criminal court or their disciplinary body, and one fears that the problem may be growing.
In order to counter this phenomenon it is vitally important that our legislation is updated to better reflect the modern dimension of this crime. The Malta Football Association kickstarted the process with the laudable idea of creating the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Experts’ Task Force in 2015, to discuss the matter and provide the government with ideas about how national legislation on sports corruption can improve. The major stakeholders were roped into the discussions. They included the government and Opposition, the Malta Gaming Authority, the police and Sport Malta, together with the MFA. In the latter stages the Attorney General was involved and a draft Bill has been forwarded to the government that would replace the current law.
The proposals include the need for a new definition of ‘sports corruption’ to better reflect modern times, the widening of police powers to prosecute offenders and an increase in prison time and fines for those caught match fixing, particularly if involved in sports organisations, gaming companies or public authorities. The new law introduces the concept of ‘inside information’, debarring sports participants from providing information unknown to the public in order to affect the betting market. People found guilty of sports corruption will be banned from attendance at sports venues around Malta and Gozo.
It is now the turn of the public to review these proposals and suggest what they would like to see in the new legislation. The public consultation process is open for the next six weeks. At the end of it all the proposals will be analysed, and those in line with the spirit of the law will be added to the Bill, which will be presented to Parliament soon after the close of public consultation.
Everyone is urged to participate in this exercise in order to preserve the beauty, unpredictability and drama offered by Maltese sport. We all have a duty to defend the integrity of our sportsmen and women and punish severely those who are using sport for illicit aims. The government is doing its best to make sure all the necessary steps are taken so that together we can protect the integrity of Maltese sport.
Clifton Grima is Parliamentary Secretary for Youth, Sport and Voluntary Organisations.