Olympic Committee cracks down on corrupt gambling
Progress is already well under way in London for the 2012 Olympics. Huge-scale construction is going on at the East-London site and infrastructures are being improved to cope with the influx that is expected to hit the capital.
But its not just stadiums and roads that need to be built. Concerns over match-fixing for gambling gains in various sports have risen of late, with tennis, football and horse-racing in the spotlight.
To head off any problems before they arise, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is formulating a system to deal with all aspects of sports betting in an attempt to prevent match-fixing and other forms of corruption. The key is to create a partnership between government bodies, sporting associations and gambling companies.
The system the IOC intends to implement by the Beijing Olympics next year will detect suspicious betting patterns. Sports betting businesses, including online sportsbook sites, will have agreements with authorities to share information in the case of suspicious activity. Bookmakers have already co-operated in several match-fixing cases this year.
Organisers hope that their efforts will lead to a clean, honest and successful London Olympics and ultimately to renewed integrity in all sporting fields.
