How does illegal sports betting
work and what are the fears?
By Puneet Pal Singh Business
Reporter, BBC News, Singapore
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-21501858
Excerpt below.
So how does the industry work?
It is a very secretive and complex
network that works at various
levels.
The so-called 'bookies' who take
the bets from the gamblers are
just the tip of the iceberg.
They get the odds from people
above them and then take the
bets based on those numbers.
Their job is collect the cash from
the gamblers and make the
payments depending on the
outcome of the wager.
Above them are the people who
manage a group of bookies that
operate in various parts of a city
or even a state.
They get their information and
odds from a completely different
set of individuals who are above
them in the chain.
The very nature of the industry
means it is structured in such a
way that it makes it extremely
difficult or even impossible for
people on the ground, the
bookies, to know who is the
person two layers above them in
the chain of command.
That is also one of the key
reasons why lawmakers have
found it very tough to
crackdown on the big players in
the industry.
So what makes it illegal, after
all it is just a bet?
Well, there is no specific
definition of illegal betting as it
may vary from country to country
depending on each nation's
laws.
Take for example, Singapore. It is
legal to go to a 'Singapore pools'
store and place a wager on a
football match. But online sports
betting is banned and
considered illegal here.
Over in India, sports betting in
any shape or form is considered
illegal.
While the definition of illegal
betting may vary across
countries, the one common
factor is that most nations
consider placing a bet with an
unregistered bookmaker or so-
called bookie as illegal.
What are the concerns about it?
There are many and at various
different levels. To begin with, it
is against the law.
At the same time, all the
transactions are unaccounted for
and cost the government's
hundreds of millions of dollars in
lost tax revenue.
They also hurt revenues and
profits of legal bookmakers, as
better odds attract gamblers
away from them.
But perhaps, the biggest concern
that has emerged in recent years
has been that illegal betting
syndicates are increasingly
indulging in 'match-fixing' to
influence the result of a sporting
event.
The fear is that these syndicates
use financial rewards as a means
to get players, or in some cases
even teams and officials, to play
in a such a way that they achieve
a pre-determined result.
The bookmakers, having prior
knowledge of the final outcome,
can then influence the odds in a
way that it nets them maximum
profit.
"It is the equivalent of having
insider information," says James
M Dorsey, a scholar at S
Rajaratnam School of
International Studies in
Singapore.
"If you already know what the
outcome of match is going to be,
it becomes a different ball game
altogether."
Not only is this illegal, but also
against the very spirit of playing
sports.
These fears have been fanned
further after Europol alleged that
680 football matches played
around the world have been
fixed by criminal networks.
It said that some 425 match
officials, players and criminals
were suspected of being
involved in the fixing.
Over the past years, there have
also been allegations of match-
fixing in sports such as cricket.
The fear is that if not controlled,
illegal betting and subsequent
match-fixing may do irreparable
damage to various sports.
Mohammad Asif Some high-
profile cricketers have been
found guilty of being involved in
match-fixing
Are there any risks involved for
gamblers?
The obvious answer is yes.
One of the biggest ones is that
there are no records of any
transaction taking place. It is all
based on mutual trust.
Though most bookies do end up
giving the payouts - they have to
do so to remain in business - but
there is always the chance of
someone refusing to pay up if a
bet goes drastically wrong.
There is no channel of appeal for
a gambler who has lost the
money as the bookie is their only
contact and they cannot go to
the police for obvious reasons.
At the same time, there is always
the risk of becoming too greedy,
especially if one is placing a bet
over the phone.
A gambler may bite the bullet and
place a bet well beyond their
means in the hope of winning.
But if the outcome goes against
them, the pressure from the
bookies to pay up can be
relentless and in some cases
extreme.
Finally, given the spread of
match-fixing, the gamblers never
know if they are being enticed
into a making a bet, the outcome
of which has already been
decided to be against them.
