Mark Philippoussis sanctioned for breaching tennis betting rules
The former top-10 player has been fined and handed a suspended ban.
UK.- Australian tennis coach Mark Philippoussis has been sanctioned after breaching the sport’s betting sponsorship rules. He broke the rules by receiving payment for providing a voiceover for promotional content for a gaming operator. The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) is fining Philippoussis $10,000. He has received a suspended ban of four months.
The ITIA said that the suspension will not come into force unless there is a further breach of the rules. The regulations are set out in the ITIA’s Tennis Anti-Corruption Programme. The former top-10 men’s ATP player did not contest the charge and cooperated fully.
As an accredited coach, Philippoussis is considered a ‘Covered Person’ under the rules. This means he is subject to the sport’s regulations around relationships with betting operators. The rules specify that “no Covered Person shall directly or indirectly, facilitate, encourage and/or promote tennis betting.”
Karen Moorhouse, CEO of the ITIA, said that “this case is clearly not one of corruption”. However, she explained that the rule in question is one that “players, coaches, and others need to be aware of.”
Moorhouse added: “As a sport, tennis has decided that accredited individuals should not have commercial relationships with betting companies given their potential ability to influence matches, access to inside information, and therefore the perception of such relationships.
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