Sports Regulations: how to protect your sport and deter fixers SportAccord – LawAccord Pâquerette Girard Zappelli, Secretary of the IOC Ethics Commission 27 May 2013 The mechanism in place for all editions of the Olympic Games since 2008 • Strong rules and regulations prohibiting all participants from betting on or having any link with betting on any Olympic sports events. • The personal commitment of all the national teams, athletes and entourages, and International Federations to respect the rules (signing of the Eligibility Conditions Form). • Monitoring all the betting activities on all the events of the 26 summer sports/ 7 winter sports performed by International Sports Monitoring (ISM), with the support of betting operators (public and private) from around the world and from national gambling regulators such as the UK Gambling Commission, ARJEL (France), AAMS (Italy), etc. 2 Specific situation in London • The Joint Assessment Unit (JAU) was put in place, in collaboration with the UK Gambling Commission and LOCOG, to strengthen cooperation with the UK law enforcement agencies. The assessment facilitated action on both sides, sports disciplinary action as well as criminal investigation. • The JAU allowed confidence between the various stakeholders for quick communication between them and to ensure that each situation was fully assessed. • No alert of suspicious betting patterns. • But investigations following requests from sports or press articles (e.g. badminton, boxing and basketball). • No issue with regard to the UK criminal law on sports betting. 3 London 2012 – first education tool at the Olympic Village • Interactive quiz in 10 languages on tablets, including video with Athlete Role Model in their national language • Code of Conduct in 10 languages 4 Learning from the experience of London • The effectiveness of a pragmatic approach: no big machinery but trust between people who share the same interest in the integrity of sport. • The JAU facilitated a relationship of trust between the regulator, the law enforcement agencies, especially the Metropolitan Police, and the Olympic Movement. • Highlighted the importance of quick and secure means of communication. • Allowed for coordinated communication. • Increased betting operators’ awareness that close collaboration is essential. • It was simply perfect for an international sports organisation to receive efficient support from a national platform. 5 Preparation for the Sochi Games – IOC responsibility • Rules of Application approved by the IOC Executive Board on 12 February 2013; the Rules have been strengthened (on the disclosure obligation) and the wording is very close to the ASOIF model rules. • Eligibility Condition Form – similar to that for London, including the personal commitment of all the national teams, athletes and entourages, as well as the IFs’ teams and officials to respect the rules. • Monitoring system by the IOC will be in place for the Games; responsibility of the IOC to update all its MoUs. • Increase the IFs’ and NOCs’ awareness of the issue and the rules. • Athletes’ education-information platform to be in place in the Olympic Village. 6 With regard to betting on the Olympic Games What the IFs need to do • Adopt their own Rules on the basis of the Model Rules provided by ASOIF. • Designate someone to support the IOC on these issues. • Educate all their people, particularly all those accredited at the Olympic Games – possibility of using existing tools (IOCSportAccord) 7 With regard to betting on the Olympic Games What the IF participants need to know • It is prohibited for all participants: – to bet on any Olympic Games events; – to support or promote any form of betting activities on the Olympic Games; – to engage in any unsporting conduct that seeks to influence the course or result of a competition; or – to disclose any inside information (non public information held by virtue of the position at the Olympic Games, e.g. injuries, team strategy). 8 Olympic Movement global Monitoring System • Noting the importance for sports organisations to be informed about irregular betting activities involving their competitions and to be able to exchange information with the betting operators and authorities on a permanent basis, the IOC Working Group recommended that the existing IOC monitoring mechanism be maintained on a permanent basis and placed at the service of all the sports organisations. • This new global mechanism should be connected with the already existing mechanisms in football, tennis or cricket to strengthen cooperation and exchange of intelligence. • The MoUs signed by the IOC with regulated betting companies (public and private) and betting authorities will be extended to the benefit of the IFs. 9 • The implementation will be staged from summer 2013 to 2015. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION XXX 6/6/2013 10