Betting scandals and attenuated property rights: how betting-related match-fixing can be prevented in future

Abstract

Recently, a number of high-profile betting scandals have shocked European football. Such scandals threaten the integrity of the sport which is one of its major assets. Football officials have taken prominent measures to avoid further scandals. Unfortunately these counter-measures in place have not yet been successful. Additional or different measures seem to be necessary to protect the integrity of the sport. We introduce a new perspective and analyze the economic causes of betting scandals from a property rights perspective. In addition, we evaluate three different theoretical solution approaches and show that neither taxation nor regulation can effectively prevent further match-fixing scandals. An allocation of property rights seems to be the only promising approach for the football institutions. This solution, however, is only advantageous, if the property rights are legally defendable. Our paper provides the introduction to a highly relevant question in the field of law and sports management. It sets the basis for further analysis especially with regard to law research.