The government has just announced that it intends to set up a task force on corrupt sports betting and I think the time is now right for Parliament to debate it
Dr Ian Gibson
Labour MP Dr Ian Gibson sets out the details of his Westminster Hall debate on sports betting and the integrity of sport in the UK.
As a former football player, I think I know quite a bit about sport, but until my local team Norwich City was involved in a match fixing allegation last October I didn't really appreciate the danger that corrupt betting was to sport in the UK.
Although nothing came up in the Norwich match, the FA has charged players in a match last year between Accrington Stanley and Bury on allegations of match fixing.
The government has just announced that it intends to set up a task force on corrupt sports betting and I think the time is now right for Parliament to debate it.
What I will be going into is the relationship between the Gambling Commission, the Sports Governing Bodies and the betting industry and how they have worked, and can work, together to ensure that all suspicious betting patterns are investigated thoroughly.
I am also going to speak about when should the police get involved in these matters and at what points should each relevant organisation become involved in the process.
I will also be speaking about the education programmes and procedures that sports governing bodies have in place so that professional athletes don’t become involved in match fixing and whether there need to be changes made so that the system is more water tight.
Finally, I will be talking about intellectual property and sport and how perhaps the betting industry should pay a fair return for the sport they use for business.
All of which I’m sure will created a very heated but fascinating debate.
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