Spot Fixing - The Ugly Side Of Sports Betting

The term "spot fixing" refers to an ugly and illegal type of bet

, where a particular element of a competition is fixed by the sportspeople involved. It can involve any part of a game, including innocuous events such as the timing of throw-ons in football, or the wide delivery of a ball in cricket. Thankfully it is a practise which seems to still be quite rare, but there have been some unfortunate incidents over the years which have damaged the reputation of sportspeople and disappointed fans and spectators.

Spot-fixing equates to illegally defrauding a bookmaker, by reaching an agreement with a sportsperson (often through cash bribes) to ensure the outcome of a particular event in the competition. It differs from match-fixing in that it is not the overall result of the contest which is necessary effected. For this reason it can be more difficult to notice spot-fixing, as there are so many different variables which bets could be placed on.

Summer 2010 has seen the latest spot-fixing scandal, in the shape of allegations made by the News of the World newspaper about the Pakistan cricket team. Just as the public were beginning to become enthralled in the competition, acquisitions of corruption overshadowed the sporting play.

The tabloid newspaper alleged that Moahammad Asid and Mohammad Amir bowled deliberate 'no-balls' while delivering overs to England batsmen. A criminal investigation was launched and the name of cricket tarnished by unfortunate rumours about greedy sportspeople abusing their position and the good faith of fans and spectators.

Cricket seems to have become a favoured sport for fixing. While it may take the complicity and agreement of a whole team to throw the result of a whole match, it is relatively easy for one player to make a significant impact. In 2000 Delhi police intercepted communications between a bookmaker and South Africa cricket captain Hansie Cronje which suggested that he accepted payments in order to throw the results of matches. An inquiry followed, along with a number of bans from cricket.

Australia have also come under the spotlight, for example when Shane Warne and Mark Waugh were fined by the Australian Cricket Board for supplying a bookmaker with information about the pitch and weather.

There has been some response from the International Cricket Council, who established an Anti-Corruption and Security Unit. The unit focuses on reducing corruption in cricket. As the name of cricket continues to get dragged through the mud, let's hope they manage to weed out those crooked bookmakers and sportspeople, and clear the name of sports betting.

by: john mce

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