Tennis anti-corruption officials are preparing for a potential surge in match-fixing warnings when official tours resume later this summer due to the significant number of formal reports of “suspicious matches” that have been brought to the attention of the Tennis Integrity drives during blockade triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.
“We expect a greater sense of integrity when touring resume, especially at lower levels [Challenger and ITF World Tour events]”Mark Harrison, TIU chief of communications, told ESPN on Tuesday.” There will be a new level of gambling and a small percentage of this could result in corrupt gambling. That’s why we created a [recent] claim that there are still suspicious activities. “
On Friday, TIU reported that regulated betting operators had reported 24 suspicious games for the second quarter of the year. These reports are not final claims of match fixing, but notices of suspicious schemes and / or activities. This is despite the lack of touring since the outbreak of the coronavirus caused the official game to close in mid-March. The number concerns anti-corruption officials because in 2019 there were only 33 reports of suspicious matches in the same quarter, when both the ATP and the WTA, together with the minor league circuit managed by the ITF, were in full swing.
“This hasn’t been a huge spike in activity,” Harrison said of the latest reports. “But there was also a lot less tennis to play.”
The 24 alerts issued for this past quarter all stemmed from events created and staged while ATP and WTA were inactive. Since events that have been created and played in the past four months are not part of the official game, they do not fall under the jurisdiction of TIU. But the agency was monitoring them because, said Harrison, “It’s nice to have an idea of the whole image of integrity.”
One of the main sources of concern for anti-corruption officials is the economic stress that players, especially the less successful ones, face in these uncertain times.
“Closing the tours implies that some people may have been vulnerable [to corruption] because their earnings have been limited or reduced, “said Harrison, adding,” And players and corrupters won’t leave. “
While TIU has no jurisdiction over exhibitions and other special events or tournaments that exist outside of the ATP, WTA and ITF games, players are always covered by the anti-corruption rules they must agree to be able to compete in the official game. While TIU has no jurisdiction over non-tourist events, players are still subject to the same punitive measures if they are found guilty of anti-corruption violations.
One of TIU’s main concerns is that recent pop-up events, as they are outside TIU’s sphere of competence, have not embraced or adopted the guarantees against corruption that tour events, including Grand Slams, observe and apply. These include precautions such as player advice and monitoring accreditation and security to prevent activities such as “courtship”, which involves sending information directly via SMS from the field while a game is in progress, thus allowing the recipient to know the outcome of a point before it is formally reported on a website.
Tournaments earn significant revenue by selling data to suppliers who, in turn, charge betting operators for access to that data, including point-to-point “real-time scoring” that provides services to bettors. Fixed matches damage both tournaments and the credibility of betting operators, so they work side by side to report suspicious activities to TIU.
“There has been a wide range of different events over this three month period, and it’s fantastic for the players and people involved in the sport,” said Harrison. “We have no problem; we encourage and welcome him. But we must also keep an eye on the integrity side of things.”
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