Betfair's Managing Director, Mark Davis (photo Jens Astrup/Play the Game)
PLAYERS AND officials are the only people who can fix a match according to Betfair’s Managing Director, Mark Davies. He also argued that legal betting companies were making every effort to help police, identify and act upon irregular betting patterns, writes Victoria Howe.
It was clear from Davies’ talk that Betfair has taken a number of steps to stop illegal bets and match fixing, with a strict policy that users have to follow when they sign up. Providing identification and credit card details allows it to track every single bet transaction made at its chain of bookmakers around the world.
Subsequently, if a strange betting pattern appears, they are then able to see exactly who has contributed to this pattern. Davies said: “If the legal betting market ceased to exist, the situation regarding sporting corruption would get worse, not better.”
Davies said that in order to stop illegal betting companies from closing, they should step up their security and information of users and share this with the sporting bodies concerned.
Davies added: “Upholding integrity is sport’s responsibility, because the issue is inherent in sport.” He stressed that sporting bodies are willing to help in the their fight against corruption, but said sport is primarily responsible for the main problem of match fixing, not the legal betting companies.
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