SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
The International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) and the Comité Olímpico de Portugal (COP) have announced a landmark code of conduct on sport betting integrity that will be introduced throughout Portugal and other members of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP).
With existing and emerging threats to the integrity of sport on the increase, the new code of conduct (ICSS-COP Standard CoC) – developed using the Sorbonne-ICSS Guiding Principles for Protecting the Integrity of Sports Competitions – will for the first time set out recognised standards on sport betting integrity to safeguard federations, clubs and athletes throughout Portugal.
As part of the new ICSS-COP Standard CoC, member federations will be able to sanction any individual that bets on or influences the result, progress or any other aspect of a match either directly or through a third-party. The code will also allow COP member federations to refer any allegation or suspicion of a violation to a designated officer to investigate and initiate appropriate disciplinary procedures.
The ICSS-COP Standard CoC is part of a pioneering Inter-Regional Cooperation Programme which will aim to support and be implemented alongside existing regulation and legislation on sport betting. This programme will see the COP and ICSS work together to promote and enhance good governance, integrity, financial transparency, security and child protection in sport with the aim of enhancing future co-operation with National Olympic Committees (NOCs) across the CPLP and European Union (EU) regions.
Manuel Constantino, President of the Comité Olímpico de Portugal, said:
“At a time where the threats to the integrity of the Olympic sport have had a sharp impact on many organisations in sport, the Olympic Committee of Portugal want to pave the way and implement several measures to effectively tackle this scourge to the credibility of sport.
“Protecting sport is a top priority on our agenda and, backed by the expertise and valuable collaboration of the ICSS, the COP executive commission recently approved this Code of Conduct on Sport Betting Integrity as a first step of an action plan aimed to prepare Portuguese sport with the proper tools to face the challenge.”
