Is Organized Gambling a Threat to the Integrity of Transnational Individual Sport Competitions?

Match-fixing is egregious at the mid and lower tiers of professional and semi-professional individual sports, particularly, if not exclusively, where the relevant governing body allows real time gambling of matches and tournaments at these lower tiers. Evidence demonstrates that in sports such as tennis and badminton, the bulk of the prize money is distributed to a small minority of athletes at the top tier and instances of match-fixing there are rare as a result. There are, however, many thousands of athletes at the lower tiers that are unable to make ends meet and whose expenses far outweigh any meagre prize money they may earn. The paper suggests that the introduction of organized gambling for matches and tournaments played at the lower tiers provides an incentive for indigent players, or those who see little prospect of a career or wealth, to engage in match-fixing.

This introduction of gambling is a clear recipe for corruption and manipulation of the sport. Instead, mid, and lower tier matches and tournaments should be excluded from the ambit of organized gambling and there is no good reason why gambling should even exist at this level. The profits reaped by sport governing bodies by real time gambling are far outweighed by the perils of match-fixing and the sport’s disrepute. Sport governing bodies should instead endeavor to re-distribute their profits more equitably among players and provide financial safety nets for those professionals unable to make a living as a disincentive to match-fixing.