04 May 2008

Online betting in tennis: French Tennis Federation sued for damages

Following claims by the FFT (Fédération Française de Tennis) that services offered by online sports betting operators present a danger to the ethics of sport, bwin, a member of the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA), is suing the French Tennis Federation for damages before a Paris court (Tribunal de grande instance).

Following claims by the FFT (Fédération Française de Tennis) that services offered by online sports betting operators present a danger to the ethics of sport, bwin, a member of the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA), is suing the French Tennis Federation for damages before a Paris court (Tribunal de grande instance).

The EGBA is keen to emphasise that the nature of the Internet means that it is an extremely efficient tool in providing operators with a perfect audit trail, one that can, where appropriate, be shared with regulators and other authorities in order to trace bets and hence provide valuable evidence in the fight against fraud in sports.

In contrast to the views of the FFT, any match-fixing would penalise bookmakers severely as they take financial risk when setting odds for all sporting events. As a result, any fraud which attempts to influence the outcome of an event would both distort the odds being offered and almost certainly deprive the the sports betting operator from generating any value from the event.

The EGBA works closely with the European Sports Security Association (ESSA)*. ESSA has set up an early warning system, in close cooperation with relevant sports authorities, such as the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), that is designed to combat fraud in connection with sporting events.

This early warning system that connects all ESSA members enables the early detection and analysis of irregular betting patterns. When an irregularity is confirmed, the relevant bets are suspended and the information is then passed on immediately to the relevant sports authorities, so that they can carry out the necessary investigations.

* ESSA, which groups the main online gaming and betting operators, works in partnership with numerous sports authorities such as the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionnals), the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association), the ITF (International Tennis Federation), FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), UEFA (Union of European Football Association) or l’EPFL (European Professional Football League). http://www.eu-ssa.org/

EGBA press release

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