Macolin and beyond : legal and regulatory initiatives against match manipulation

Aim and research questions As one of the most common types of sports fraud, match manipulation constitutes a significant threat to the integrity of sport (Manoli, 2018). In response to that threat, governments and sports organisations have taken various actions, ranging from preventive to restrictive in nature. The aim of the research is to analyse the legal and regulatory framework currently in place to tackle match manipulation in sport thereby adding to existing literature that has been done on the topic. In particular, the research maps how states have chosen to criminally sanction match manipulation, how states may have taken action in terms of cooperation and information exchange, both nationally and internationally, between public authorities as well as with other stakeholders such as sports organisations and sports betting operators. Furthermore, an insight is given into how sports organisations have strengthened their regulatory framework in order to prevent, detect and sanction match manipulation taking into consideration possible hurdles in the process. RQ: How do states and sports organisations tackle the threat of match manipulation through legal and regulatory initiatives? Theoretical Background and Literature Review The Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions (Macolin Convention) defines match manipulation as “an intentional arrangement, act or omission aimed at an improper alteration of the result or the course of a sports competition in order to remove all or part of the unpredictable nature of the aforementioned sports competition with a view to obtaining an undue advantage for oneself or for others” (Treaty No. 215 Council of Europe). The Convention, which was opened for signature in 2014, is the first international legal instrument to specifically deal with match manipulation and introduced a various number of measures to be taken by ratifying Parties (Serby, 2015). Regarding criminalisation of match manipulation, the UNODC and the IOC conducted a study which provided an overview of the criminal laws of 52 states established for that purpose (UNODC-IOC, 2018). Concerning national cooperation between stakeholders, Henzelin et al. (2018) commented on the creation of so-called national platforms which should help facilitate that. Veuthey (2014) focused on the history of actions of the football and cricket federations, often spurred by scandals that were brought to light, and analysed their actions at the time for possible shortcomings. This research will focus on the current legal and regulatory framework regarding the combat against match manipulation including recent developments. Research Design, Methodology and Data Analysis The data used in this paper is gathered through analysis of the relevant legal and regulatory texts at national and international level. In addition, literature and documentation on the topic of match manipulation will be reviewed. Results/Findings and Discussion The paper shows that in recent years a fair amount of activity can be observed with regard to legislative and regulatory actions. For instance, over the past decade, a number states have chosen to criminalise match manipulation by way of specific provisions as opposed to relying on different forms of incriminations of e.g. fraud and bribery. Similarly, action can be observed regarding national and international cooperation in relation to the topic of match manipulation. At national level, the creation of multi-stakeholder platforms, namely national platforms, can be noticed, inspired by Article 13 of the Macolin Convention. Each national platform is nearly unique in its form, as there is no strict rule written in the Macolin Convention regarding the platforms’ format. At an international level, cooperative initiatives have grown as well, for example, through the INTERPOL and Europol frameworks and through the creation of the informal Network of National Platforms. Furthermore, sports organisations have increasingly updated their codes of ethics and disciplinary codes which include bases to take disciplinary action against match manipulators provided that they fall under the organisation’s jurisdiction. In addition, these organisations have worked on their various reporting mechanisms and have taken initiatives to monitor betting markets. Conclusion, Contribution and Implication The research adds to existing literature by discussing the current situation regarding legal and regulatory measures in place to combat match manipulation. The actions that have been taken by governments and sports organisations must certainly be applauded. However, the increased legal and regulatory action has also exposed possible difficulties. For instance, because states’ criminal laws are not uniform, questions may be raised regarding coherence and visibility of these various criminal laws. Moreover, it is possible that (judicial) cooperation between states in criminal matters will be hindered. Concerning national and international cooperation and information exchange between stakeholders, it can be observed that many of these initiatives are informal in nature and consequently mainly rely on the goodwill of the stakeholders involved