Australia creates unit against match fixing

The country is aiming to address growing risks around sports integrity by creating a new unit.

Australia.- Australia is once again trying new measures to regulate the industry, this time by creating the Sports Betting Integrity Unit, which will be established within a new sports integrity commission. This unit would also give the national anti-doping regulator more powers to investigate.

The establishment of this new body is set to tackle match-fixing and cheating in local sports, and will oversee the nation’s top sporting codes, such as the AFL and NRL. The new national sports integrity commission will start operating in July 2020 and will gather and act on intelligence about match-fixing and corruption.

The Department of Home Affairs, the Australian Sports Anti-doping Authority (ASADA) would also get more powers to tackle doping under this new guidance. The authority will also work with federal agencies to collect intelligence and work with integrity units.

The creation of the new unit comes after an inquiry by former police corruption royal commissioner James Wood, who raised concerns after it was revealed that information about corruption and organised crime infiltration of sport was not being acted upon.

Government officials told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age that they’re considering candidates to lead the new watchdog, and that Victorian Racing Integrity Commissioner Sal Perna and former federal police assistant commissioner David Sharpe, the CEO of ASADA are firm contenders.