DCMS ups sports integrity dynamics as new Macolin member

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) has this morning confirmed that UK sports will join the ‘Macolin Convention’ – a European wide initiative seeking to prevent, detect and punish match-fixing.

Mims Davies signs off her first directive as new UK Sports & Civic Society Minister, which sees the UK join the inter-state cooperative convention/body dedicated to eliminating all levels of sports corruption/manipulation.

Established in 2016, the Macolin Convention encourages member states to create national platforms working together on information/data exchanges, knowledge sharing and resources to detect and prevent sports manipulations.

Furthermore, the convention seeks to provide its members with common definitions, co-operation mechanisms and legal instruments/frameworks in the assistance of prosecuting match-fixing and corruption.

Updating stakeholders Mims Davies DCMS said: “Match-fixing is a real threat to the integrity of sports. It is a crime that robs spectators of the pleasure of watching a contest that they can trust.

While I’m confident that we have a robust system in place to prevent match-fixing, we cannot be complacent. It is a cross-border issue, and only through a coordinated international effort can we mitigate the risks”.

Welcoming the UK as new Macolin Member, EU Deputy Secretary General Gabriella Battaini Dragoni highlighted the ongoing work of the Gambling Commission and the Sports Betting Integrity Forum in combating match-fixing in the UK.

“I warmly welcome today the United Kingdom’s signature of the Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions. This treaty is the only international legally-binding instrument against match-fixing, illegal betting, bad governance, insider information, conflicts of interests and the use of clubs as shell companies. This is a clear commitment by the United Kingdom to secure integrity in sport through our convention.”

Moving forward, The Macolin Convention will further assist UK government sports policy stakeholders, offering advice to sporting institutions, organisations and club executives on implementing improved governance structures and further educating athletes on integrity/responsibility.

Commenting on the update Richard Watson, UKGC Executive Director for Enforcement and Intelligence, said:

“We are pleased that the government has signed the Convention. It demonstrates our commitment to international collaboration in the fight against the manipulation of sports competitions and to protecting the integrity of both sport and sports betting in Great Britain”.