Corruption

GAME fixing and sports betting will be the focus of Brussels-based European Sports Security Association (ESSA) and Malta’s gambling regulator body, the Lotteries and Gambling Authority (LGA) after a deal was signed to maintain the honesty in sports.

According to the legal manager for EU and International Affairs for the Maltese Lotteries and Gambling Authority, Dr. Gayle Kimberley, the agreement demonstrates that integrity in sports is at the top of the LGA’s list of priorities. Kimberley said that such initiatives demonstrate, too, that “match fixing through sports betting does not find fertile ground in thoroughly regulated jurisdictions such as Malta.”

The Secretary General of ESSA, Khalid Ali, also commented on the Malta gambling regulator MoU with ESSA, and said: “It’s in all our interests to defeat betting related match fixing.  By signing an MoU with the LGA in Malta, we have a direct link with the regulator to report any suspicious betting patterns thereby developing a robust eco-system to protect the interests of consumers, sport and the betting operators.”

The Lotteries and Gaming Authority will work with licensed sports betting groups to help ESSA pick up any suspicious betting patterns and share its information with other global sporting associations.