The Ministry of the Presidency in Spain has reportedly announced the formation of a special commission that is to be tasked with helping the nation to combat match-fixing in sport and stamp out associated instances of betting-related fraud.

Cooperative concern:

According to a Monday report from iGamingBusiness.com, the new group is to be comprised of members of the Direccion General de Ordenacion del Juego (DGOJ) gambling regulator as well as the National Sports Council and will be asked to develop an innovative early-warning system to stop match-fixing and fraud.

iGamingBusiness.com reported that the body will also feature representatives from the national and local police services as well as people with expertise in various sporting fields and sportsbetting and is to be led on a rotating one-year basis by an agent from either the DGOJ or the National Sports Council.

Responsible remit:

The Ministry of the Presidency works much like other European nations’ cabinets and the body reportedly declared that the coming commission will be asked to formulate ‘action plans [and] recommendations or diagnoses to detect, prevent and combat illegal actions in the field of sports competitions and fraud in betting.’

According to a statement from the Ministry of the Presidency…

“Corruption linked to the manipulation of sports competitions and betting-related fraud are two of the greatest threats to sport and horseracing as they undermine each sport’s core values and ruin the experience for fans and spectators. For this reason, the government has considered it necessary to establish at the national level a formalized channel of dialogue and cooperation between public authorities, sports organizations, organizers of competitions sports and representatives of the gaming sector.”

Updated approach:

The establishment of this body reportedly comes after June saw the DGOJ publish a three-year plan that has been designed to ensure the local sportsbetting sector is operating in a socially responsible manner. This strategy purportedly encompasses provisions that will encourage licensees to innovate and play a positive role in Spanish society alongside stipulations to create safer and more secure gaming environments and improve gambling controls.

Football controversy:

The decision to create this body additionally follows the arrests in May of eleven players and officials from some of Spain’s most recognizable top-flight and second-tier soccer clubs over allegations of match-fixing. The Reuters news service reported that this action had involved nine raids that police conducted after being tipped off by the country’s National Professional Football League.

Reuters detailed via its May 28 expose that the whole matter had been precipitated by a 2018 match in which the promotion-bound Sociedad Deportiva Huesca had lost against lowly opposition Club Gimnastic de Tarragona. Although the 1-0 scoreline may not have been dubious, the news service reported that police had become suspicious after the game attracted up to 14 times more betting activity than was usual.