Sportradar assesses Tennis integrity report
Sportradar assessed a report by the Independent Review of Tennis Integrity and provided its own insight on the issue.
UK.- The Independent Review of Tennis Integrity published its Final Report of 2018 and revealed its analysis of betting-related and other integrity issues that impact professional tennis competitions. As tennis players are among the most suspected athletes regarding match fixing, the organisation recommended several ways to favour sports integrity.
Among other things, the report suggested, as a potential solution, enforcing expanded integrity rules and punishing offenders; the development of national and international regulation and enforcement; to establish a newly-empowered TIU with independent supervisory boards.
David Lampitt, Managing Director Group Operations at Sportradar, assessed the report and provided his own insight on the issue. “We welcome the fact that the Panel has reversed their recommendation to discontinue sale of live data at the US$25k level of the sport, however we believe that they could and should have gone further,” he said.
Furthermore, Mr Lampit explained the two reasons behind his statement:
“A targetted approach should be applied across the whole sport; we have been consistent in our view that the Panel invites new risks and problems by recommending a prohibitive approach, when it has not succeeded as an effective regulatory tool in relation to the betting industry anywhere in the world, nor in any other sport. Adjusting their arbitrary line (between targeted approach and blanket discontinuance) down a level doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.”
“This is because the measures don’t match the risks; the Panel’s approach remains disproportionate. They now accept a targeted approach as the most effective response for almost every level of tennis, including quite correctly those levels above the ITF that evidence the highest level of risk. It then makes no sense that they have doggedly maintained a solution that is more draconian, expensive, complex and unpredictable for the $15k tournament level that has lower risk.”
“Our experience borne of more than a decade investing in the best programmes to fight integrity corruption in sport, is that a targeted approach, where the key stakeholders cooperate and invest into detection, prevention and education rather than prohibition is the most effective way forward for all levels,” the Sportradar executive said and advanced: “Now that the Panel’s work is finally complete, we look forward to working with our trusted partners and the wider tennis family to deliver the best solutions to protect the integrity of the sport.”
