Brussels, 08/12/2008 (Agence Europe) - The Sports Rights Owners Coalition (SROC), which groups some 40 European and international sports organisations (leagues, federations) hopes to make its voice heard in the debate launched in the European Parliament on the integrity of online sports betting. Concerned by heightened suspicions of corruption weighing on a number of sports competitions for which online betting has been opened, it calls for coordinated action from public authorities to promote the moral uprightness of competitions organised by its members. It also calls for recognition of the right of those organising sports competitions to control the commercial use of their events. This would ensure that the growing financial returns of online betting companies become legitimate in order, among other things, to support amateur sport.
“Right holders are faced with two major, rapidly growing challenges: on one side, the piracy of sports events broadcasting and, on the other, the need to ensure protection of the integrity of sports competitions and fair financial returns on bets based on these events”, said Oliver Weingarten, speaking on behalf of SROC, on Thursday 4 December during a breakfast at the EP for sports organisations, the online betting industry and European lawmakers. Underlining the neutrality of his organisation in the debate on the opening of the bets markets, he stressed the fact that commercial sports betting operators do not take part in the financing of sport in Europe or support measures to strengthen the honesty of betting or to fund the organisation of sports events. Jean-François Villottee, Director General of the Fédération française de tennis (FFT), spoke of an FFT study showing that, among the online bets made during the Paris Bercy tournament organised by the FFT, 90% of the bets had been placed during the matches and that 10% of them were on stages without any sporting challenge. He noted disproportionate amounts generated by the bets (between €500 million and €1 billion placed as bets on nearly 150 internet sites) and the fundamental economic cost of the tournament (€10 million for organisation and €10 million in the form of premiums to players). There were media rumours of arranged matches that such rumours have never been proven. “Five of the ten best French players” recognised having been approached to change their behaviour during a match, he deplored. Mr Villottee calls for greater involvement by public authorities in order to ensure that sports events are held in a more honest way. “Let's not lose 25 years as in the case for doping to set real cooperation in place between sports and public authorities”, he added, calling for the powers of the World Anti-Doping Agency to be extended.
In a concern to enjoy the right of free provision of services set out in the European Treaty, the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) said it was not standing idly by without doing anything. Showing that it auto-regulates, it has set in place an early warning system that allows suspect bets to be discovered and to warn sports organisations in time. The organisations cannot investigate, hence the need to involve the authorities, he said. “We need restrictive policies on betting”, said Eija-Riitta Korhola (EPP-ED, Finland), adding that there are each day 8,000 betting possibilities often on events that are not monitored. Her compatriot from the PES Group, Lasse Lehtinen, hoped to ensure that the monopolistic system in force in Finland would continue.
Jérôme Perlemuter of the French Football League said, moreover, that it was necessary to recognise the rights of organisers of sports competitions to control the commercial use of their events. According to SROC, legislative initiatives should confirm that no commercial exploitation can take place without the agreement of sports organisations and must be the subject of a payment, for example, in the form of licenses. Emphasis was also placed on the possible application of the “polluter pays” principle whereby an online betting operation would compensate the organiser of a sports event in the event of damage undermining the integrity of a competition.
Schaldemose Report. Christel Schaldemose (PES, Denmark) told EUROPE of the broad lines of the draft report to be adopted in January in internal market committee and then in February in plenary. Providing the possibility for betting is not a service like any other and “auto-regulation is not sufficient”, she said. The draft report considers that a code of conduct could be useful for attaining certain public (or private) objectives but that it can only be seen as a complement to primary or secondary legislation. It will call on the Commission to clarify who has the power to act in this field. Member states wish to regulate their market while economic operators underline the fundamental freedoms set out in the Treaty, Ms Schaldemose says. She took the view that the specific report presented by the French EU Presidency during the last Competitiveness Council was a step in the right direction (see EUROPE 0790). The future European Commission should, she says, take account of the work done by the EP and Council and launch initiatives. (M.B./transl.jl)