Svenska Spel CEO demands more from SGA anti match-fixing council
Patrik Hofbauer claims council has “lost focus and energy” when it comes to combatting match-fixing
Svenska Spel CEO Patrik Hofbauer has claimed the Swedish Gambling Authority’s (SGA) anti match-fixing council functions more as a “discussion forum” than a taskforce to combat corruption in sport.
Hofbauer made the comments in a joint Aftonbladet article with Swedish Football Association (SFA) general secretary Håkan Sjöstrand, where both claimed they were “dissatisfied” with the council, despite their respective organisations being active members.
The pair claim the SGA-led council has “lost both focus and energy” and has diverged from its original intention of preventing corruption in Swedish sport through the monitoring of suspicious betting patterns.
“Leading the match-fixing council in the fight against manipulation in sports must involve full focus on concrete measures to achieve the goals, to have control of the Swedish gaming market and create a minefield for those who try to corrupt it,” Hofbauer explained.
“As the SGA does not interpret its assignment in this way, the council functions more as a discussion forum than as a taskforce.
“For example, there has never been a national stop for ongoing betting for any betting object on suspicion of match-fixing, despite having that right, and despite the fact that there has been no shortage of suspicious matches,” Hofbauer added.
“Although some positive steps have been taken, we note that almost two years later, the criminals are still in the driver’s seat,” co-author Sjöstrand claimed.
To address this issue, the duo have called on Swedish authorities to sign up to the Macolin Convention, the Council of Europe’s Convention against Manipulation in Sport, which came into force in January 2019.
“The convention is accompanied by a clear description of the structures and commitments required for a national platform to stand strong in the fight against match-fixing,” wrote the pair.
“If the convention becomes Swedish law, several obstacles that today make work more difficult will also be removed.”
In lieu of signing up to the convention, Hofbauer and Sjöstrand suggested three potential areas to strengthen match-fixing efforts.
These include the Swedish government providing greater clarity to the SGA in respect of match-fixing requirements and the establishment of a centralised information centre where operators can share information on suspicious betting.
Finally, the Svenska Spel CEO and SFA general secretary called on the SGA to “take responsibility as a decision-making unit” and handle all aspects of alleged match-fixing on Swedish matches.