The Council of Europe Convention on Manipulation of Sports Competitions: the best bet for the global fight against match-fixing?

Abstract

The paper commences by looking at why there is a need for a new international treaty on match-fixing; the first part of the paper considers what is meant by ‘manipulation of sports competitions’, and the second part considers the recent growth of this phenomenon and its links with organised crime. The third part considers how the Convention came about and what its major provisions are, and also considers the tension between some of the fundamentals of European Union law (specifically the freedoms of movement and provision of services) and the Convention. The fourth part considers to what extent the creation of a sport-specific criminal match-fixing law would enhance the fight against corruption, concluding that it would make little difference. The fifth, sixth and seventh parts analyse what form the “dialogue and cooperation [between the stakeholders] at national and international levels” takes under the Convention, and considers to what extent the present relationship between these stakeholders, respectively, betting operators, sports governing bodies and national regulators, would change. The discussion at Parts IV–VII also considers to what extent the Convention impacts on the traditional relationship between the state and private sports bodies, the so-called ‘sporting autonomy’. The concluding section will summarise the strengths and weaknesses of the Convention, will consider its likely impact upon match-fixing, and consider its relationship with lex sportiva.