The International Olympic Committee is to set up a new system to watch for corrupt betting practices linked to Olympic competitions. It will be in place for the 2010 Vancouver winter games.
The monitoring program is part of increased efforts to tackle corrupt and irregular betting and match-fixing.
A new Swiss company, International Sports Monitoring, will monitor betting on the Vancouver games in February and the 2012 London Olympics for the IOC. It will receive information on betting patterns from 400 to 450 oddsmakers, betting firms and lotteries and flag any irregularities for investigation.
Athletes in Vancouver will be educated about the new programme. All those accredited for the games, including athletes, are barred from betting on Olympic competitions.
For the Beijing Olympics last year, the IOC used a system set up by Fifa for football to watch for irregular betting on Olympic competitions. The monitoring found that a wide array of bets were offered for all Olympic sports, but also that bets laid were generally small – between ˆ5 and ˆ50 (£4.58 to £45.80). The IOC said there were no cases of irregular betting.
"The results of the monitoring were very encouraging, there was not much betting," said an IOC member, Thomas Bach . "There was not a single bet where the alarms started ringing. If it happens, it is too late, so we want to be proactive and to avoid any kind of match-fixing."
Uefa is investigating 40 cases of suspected match-fixing in the Champions League and Uefa Cup, mostly involving eastern European clubs. The matches being scrutinised for suspicious betting patterns were early qualifying games that took place over the last four seasons, 15 in the last two years.
Uefa has beefed up its early warning system to protect against illegal betting and match-fixing, and started a special investigation to clamp down on the problem. Tennis also has a unit to investigate suspected corruption.
The senior vice president of the World Lottery Association, Risto Nieminen, said that the problem of match-fixing and irregular betting in sports was "far more serious than people understand".
"It's a much larger threat to sport than doping," said Nieminen, whose association covers state lottery and gaming organisations from 76 countries. "It is really worrying. I think the most worrying part is if there is a connection to organised crime."
The IOC first noticed internet bets being offered on Olympic competitions, mainly athletics, at the 2004 Athens games. It formed a group to study the issue and in 2006 formalised rules banning all those with accreditation from betting on Olympic competitions. Athletes suspected of involvement in gambling can be called before a disciplinary commission, as happens for doping cases.
