Match Fixing In Sports
Match fixing is intolerable and punishable by law for intentionally throwing away a competitive match for monetary or unjust gain. It also plays with the feelings, trust and relationship between the fans of sports and various other stakeholders. It can be the cause of disgrace for a whole country, not to mention the game. For the most part, illicit wagering in the form of match fixing happens because of betting. Bookies related to top criminal syndicates regularly approach high positioning players and authorities and ask them to throw a game or make a particular event.
What is Match Fixing?
A bookie would benefit from knowing when an event is likely to occur and at what point in the game (or the result in itself). They can then set odds with prior knowledge of the outcome making it an unfair bet for the consumer. This results in a huge windfall for the bookie. In a way, bookies get to determine the end result of a game or particular events during a game that can be critical. This, to put it plainly, this is match fixing. The prizes offered regularly bait players and hook them in. In the '90s, match fixing was rampant in various sports, one of them being cricket. Players were paid through cash, costly watches, vehicles and pieces of jewelry, etc. Players accepted these gains at the expense of the pride of playing for a team or country.
Forms of match fixing
Here are some of the most common forms of match fixing:
Prize Sharing
One form of match fixing is prize sharing where both teams or players decide to share the rewards or prize money irrespective of the outcome or result of the game.
Match-replays
Matches that are fixed and become apparent, end up in replays which could result in an increase in ticket sales. In early baseball, players received a fraction of the gate receipts and this motivated them in some cases to intentionally fix a match and earn a reply.
Motivated by a bookie
A player may be motivated by a bookie to perform a certain way to determine the outcome of a game. This is usually in exchange for financial gain.
Round advantage
Matches that have qualification rounds that determine the following group or match-ups tend to give players around the advantage. In certain situations, players may be incentivised to lose the last game after securing qualification in order to be drawn against a weaker team from the next group (based on the other group’s results).
Corrupt Referees
Referees don’t earn as much as high paid players and sometimes can be prone to be incentivised by monetary gain. This can take place for years continuously, sporadically or once before it comes to light (in some cases, it may not).
Match Fixing In Recent History
According to paper reports, there are a significant number of matches that are fixed between bookies when India played against Pakistan. Hanse Krojne, the former South African captain is only one example among many. In more recent times, we’ve had Sreeshanth from the Indian Premier League as well. Match fixing is a noteworthy issue to the trustworthiness of the integrity of the rules of a sport and sportsmanship. Leagues, clubs, competitors, and fans all lose out in the process.
This issue has been at an all-time high since the volume of cash around games and wagering has risen exponentially. It gives punters less incentive to watch a sport, let alone make a wager in the hope of winning something.
