Melbourne, Dec.14 (ANI): Senior police have warned Australia's elite sporting bodies that they are at risk of being infiltrated by organised gambling networks unless administrators take aggressive action to protect their codes.
The warning was delivered at a forum in Melbourne involving international crime experts and representatives of Australia's leading sports, The Age reports.
Police studies on legal and illegal offshore betting have shown the potential for serious corruption in professional sport has been underestimated.
The warning was issued as Australia's leading sports bodies met senior Victorian police and Australian Crime Commission officials today to discuss strategies to combat the problem.
Officials from about 12 elite sports, including AFL, rugby league and union, soccer, netball, tennis and racing codes, were briefed on Interpol and ACC investigations into gambling syndicates.
It will be part of the first Maintaining Integrity in Sport Forum, to be held at the Australian Institute of Management.
In recent years police have become concerned about close relationships between some of Australia's most notorious crime figures and well-known sporting identities.
Several police investigations have revealed crime identities using their personal relationships within sport to glean inside information in order to punt large amounts - usually to launder drug money.
Last month the Australian Crime Commission released a report that said some sporting bodies "lack a comprehensive understanding of the capabilities and impact organised criminal groups can have on their sector".
The report found that "Australian sport is no longer protected by Australia's geographic isolation. Developments in technology have eroded national boundaries and exposed Australian sports, athletes, officials and the public to the international marketplace. In turn, Australian sport has been exposed to greater threats from organised criminal groups."
National law and justice ministers agreed last month to develop match-fixing laws that could carry a maximum 10-year jail term. (ANI)
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