A Council of Europe conference in Rabat (Morocco) aims to raise awareness of illegal betting, one of the biggest challenges to sport integrity and a key target in the fight against the manipulation of sports competitions, as addressed by the Macolin Convention.

During the conference speakers are outlining the extent of the problem and sharing best practices, as well as identifying concrete solutions for eliminating this scourge.

The event is organised with the support of the ACT cooperation project (“Addressing Competitions’ Manipulation Together”) and the Marocaine des Jeux et des Sports.  As well as Moroccan participants and guests, it includes numerous participants from the region (Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Tunisia and Uganda) representing governments, gambling regulatory authorities, law enforcement, betting operators, olympic committees and sport federations.

The Macolin Convention is the only international law instrument focusing on the manipulation of sports competitions that is open to any country in the world. It requests public authorities to co-operate with sports organisations, betting operators and competition organisers to prevent, detect and sanction the manipulation of sports competitions. It proposes a common legal framework for efficient international cooperation to respond to this global threat.

“Illegal and unregulated betting are major threats to sports, being operated beyond the surface, without any legal framework, thus making it easier for criminal activities to go unnoticed. The Macolin Convention aims to reduce such betting by promoting cooperation and setting international standards”, highlighted George Mavrotas, Chair of the Follow-up Committee of the Macolin Convention.

On 8 and 9 November the conference will be followed by the fifth meeting of the Network of National Platforms to combat the manipulation of sports competitions, also known as the Group of Copenhagen.