An international project to address match-fixing in sport kicked off today with ESSA, the body representing most of the world’s biggest regulated betting firms, amongst the key stakeholders participating in the EU funded initiative that is being led by the Council of Europe. Other key stakeholders involved in the Kick Crime Out of Sport (KCOOS) project include INTERPOL, the International Olympic Committee and the British and French regulatory authorities.

Meeting in Brussels, stakeholders discussed the scope of the project that will seek to deliver practical resources such as the development of a Handbook on Good Practices. There will also be a number of regional events worldwide to gather information and explore effective legislative models and tools to deal with match-fixing, such as player education and information exchange.

“The project marks another important milestone in the development of an effective and coordinated international collaboration between key stakeholders that are intent on driving criminals out of sport. Responsible regulated betting operators want nothing else than sport to be free from manipulation and will do whatever we can to help to achieve that,” said Khalid Ali, Secretary General of ESSA. The 18-month project was approved following the Council of Europe’s successful bid to a European Commission call for proposals on “New integrated mechanisms for cooperation between public and private actors to identify sports betting risks”. It primarily aims to raise awareness on match-fixing and to promote the Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions by:

• Assisting countries in implementing the convention nationally, including transposition of the Convention into national legislation;

• Gathering information on the current status in the fight against match fixing and sports betting regulations and to build a network of national contacts;

• Offering practical assistance and to facilitate the exchange of good practices among countries through regional seminars, study visits and expert missions; and

• Assisting with the setting up of national platforms, regulatory structures and other supporting structures and to strengthen the institutional capacity of relevant authorities.

• This media release was originally published on ESSA (Sports Betting Integrity)’s internet site on 10 February 2016. To access the original, please click here.