According to latest figures published by the UK Gambling Commission, a total of 56 cases of suspicious betting activity have been reported to the Commission between September 2007 and June 2009, 70% of which were brought to light by betting operators.
The highest number of reported instances of suspicious betting activity concerned football where a total of 18 investigations were conducted by the Commission or the sport’s governing body, followed by horseracing which was the subject of ten investigations. Snooker and greyhound racing tied for third with four investigations each, with darts, tennis, golf, rugby league and bowls making up the remainder of suspicious sports betting events.
A total of four non-sports events were also investigated by the Commission during the period.
Of the 56 reported cases, 48% were dropped after the suspicions were found to be unsubstantiated, while 21 cases were referred to the relevant sport’s governing body. A further eight cases are currently under investigation by the Commission.
The latest figures support the view of Gambling Commission Chairman Brian Pomeroy, who said earlier this year that he had seen little evidence to support the widespread concern about the risk posed by betting to sports integrity.