Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming April 2016 26 ESSA, the industry group set up by European bookmakers to combat match- fixing, is trying to rally Asian sports betting operators to its cause. By Steven Ribet T he Secretary General of the European Sports Security Association (ESSA) Khalid Ali was in Hong Kong and Macau last month looking to recruit new members. His message was simple: match-fixing is a growing problem and we’re dealing with it. But we need support ESSA’s Asian Mission from Asia for what is now a global issue. “We already have one very significant Asian operator, the Hong Kong Jockey Club, who we’re very pleased to have on board,” he says. “Now we need participation from other bookmakers in the continent.” The genesis of ESSA is highly instructive. It was formed after the 2005 Bundesliga scandal, in which a German 2nd division referee Robert Hoyzer was found guilty of taking bribes from a Croatian syndicate. Germany’s land-based sports betting monopoly Oddset was defrauded of millions. Online bookies like Bwin, however, didn’t lose a penny. “All the bets they took were fully traceable,” says Ali. “You have to prove your identity to open an online gambling account in the EU. Basically what you’re doing is creating a digital fingerprint. Of course criminals don’t like fingerprints.” ESSA now has 18 members, including Bwin, Bet365, Ladbrokes and William Hill. One of them will immediately alert the others if it notices irregular betting activity. If they all agree something untoward has been going on, they will pass the information on to the relevant sporting authority. One of the trade association’s most successful efforts to date came from working with the sporting body EU Professional Features