The Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions – aka the Macolin Convention – was established by the Council of Europe in 2014, and achieved thanks to the efforts of over 50 States and organizations worldwide. It is the only international accord in the global fight against the manipulation of sports competitions and illegal sports betting.
Since its conception, WLA has been a great supporter, and together with the International Olympic Committee, was among the parties that created the initial draft of the Convention.
The WLA developed an informative Brief Guide on the Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions and why it is important for the lottery and sports betting sector.
The Guide provides an overview of the reasons behind the creation of the Macolin Convention – to unite all nations in the global fight against corruption in sports and illegal sports betting, highlights the challenges faced with regard to match fixing and related illegal betting.
It also explains the importance and benefits of ratifying this treaty. For instance, the National Platform, which is one of the central concepts of the Macolin Convention and provides the different stakeholders involved in combatting this issue with a forum in which they can achieve this objective.
A decade of progress
The Macolin Community Conference entitled Macolin Convention: 10 years on, challenges and perspectives, will take place on 8 October in Porto, Portugal, as part of the 18th Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Sport.
The event is organized with the support of the cooperation project Addressing Competitions Manipulation Together (ACT), which is financed by the WLA.
It will bring together key stakeholders involved in the global effort to combat match-fixing and illegal sports betting, from across the lottery (WLA, Lotterie Romande), sports (CONMEBOL, FC Porto, IOC, UEFA) and the sports betting world (La Marocaine des Jeux et des Sports).
Other participants will include members of the Macolin Convention Follow-up Committee, law enforcement (Federal Police Belgium, INTERPOL), gambling regulators (GREF), academia (University of Coimbra, University of Neuchâtel), legal representatives, and sports betting monitoring bodies.
Support from the lottery industry
A growing number of lotteries around the world provide sports betting offers, and are actively engaged in the global effort to maintain sports and sports betting integrity.
Taking part in the panel discussion about the Major achievements over the past decade, is Jean-Luc Moner-Banet, General director (Lotterie Romande) and Chair of the WLA Betting Integrity on Sports & Horse Racing Committee dedicated to preserving the integrity of sport by leading the fight against match-fixing and illegal betting. Monet-Banet will discuss the origins of the Macolin Convention and the fight against the manipulation of sports competitions, highlighting the work of the BISHR Committee.
Luca Esposito, WLA Executive Director is also General Secretary of the United Lotteries for Integrity in Sport (ULIS), a global non-profit association, with a multi-stakeholder network, which supports licensed state lotteries in their mission to ensure integrity and fight crime in sport. Esposito will examine the evolution of detection systems providing an overview by country and by sport.
Looking ahead – tackling a global issue more effectively
The event will conclude with a roundtable on Sports betting and the integrity of sport: finding the right balance. The aim is to explore practical solutions and allow participants to share best practices, and strengthen the integrity of sports competitions in the evolving sports betting landscape.
For this session, participants will be split into three groups and discuss the following topics:
- How to take the fight against the manipulation of sports competitions to the next level over the next 10 years.
- How to improve the fight against illegal betting in today’s landscape.
- How the Macolin Community (including lotteries and the sports sector) can contribute to promoting and developing the Convention.