Manipulation of sports competitions symposium highlights need for more education

The sport and sports betting communities got together this week for the first time since 2019 as the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, and McLaren Global Sport Solutions hosted the Symposium on Match Manipulation and Gambling in Sport at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto.

Canadian Gaming Association president/CEO Paul Burns joined the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP to provide a summary of the happenings from the two-day conference of panels, keynote addresses and collaboration by both communities to educate athletes and other participants in sport about the realities involved around match fixing and corruption. Nic Sulsky of PointsBet Canada, a partner of Curling Canada, and Kris Abbott of Betano also weighed in on the cooperation between sportsbooks and sports bodies to educate athletes, coaches and others.

Paul Burns joined the show to summarize the happenings from this week’s Symposium on Competition Manipulation and Gambling in Sport, co-hosted by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, and McLaren Global Sport Solutions. During the symposium, the International Betting Integrity Agency – with support from FanDuel, Betway and bet365 – announced a $300,000 commitment over the next three years to fund an education program for athletes and other participants in Canadian sport about betting, match-fixing and other matters around integrity in sport.

The CCES put out a news release Friday that the main takeaway from the symposium and its participants was “identifying the need for a coordinated pan-Canadian approach to prevent competition manipulation that is bolstered by comprehensive education”.

“The symposium highlighted the fact that Canadian sport needs a plan to address the threat of competition manipulation now before it gets a stronger foothold in Canada,” said Jeremy Luke, the president and CEO of the CCES. “A harmonized, pan-Canadian competition manipulation policy developed with athletes that includes comprehensive education and is administered by an independent organization would be consistent with best practices from sport and other countries, and would contribute to a safer environment for athletes and support personnel.

“The CCES is committed to working with partners, including athletes, to make it a reality.”

The podcast also set the table for next Wednesday’s What’s Next for iGaming Regulation in Canada? webinar presented by GBG Plc and featuring a panel with the aforementioned Brewer, Rebekah Jackson from GBG, PointsBet Canada CEO Scott Vanderwel, and legal beagle Jack Tadman of GME Law.

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