Fixed Matches In Betting World

Fixed Matches In Betting World

As you may know, the sports betting industry is worth a lot of money — billions of dollars trade hands every year. In the world of gambling, you win some, and you lose some, but sometimes, the stakes are so high that some individuals can’t afford to lose. What would you do, if you laid thousands of dollars on the line, without even knowing for sure if your bet would be successful? Most people are willing to take the chance, and let luck have its way. But for some, failure isn’t an option. So what do they resort to? Match fixing.

Sometimes, certain outcomes of a particular game are either fully or partly predetermined. Fixed matches are usually organized by gambling syndicates, in cohorts with sports officials, referees and sometimes even players. At times, players are given millions of dollars to throw away a game, or referees are paid to favor a certain team. Although there have been several such incidents that have taken place in sporting history, we're going to take a look at a few.

Black Sox Scandal

The Black Sox scandal is probably one of the most infamous match fixing incidents in American sports. It took place way back in 1919 when the eight members of the Chicago White Sox were paid by gambling syndicates to lose a World Series match against rivals Cincinnati Reds. Back then, the rules weren’t as flexible as they were today. Owners had quite a bit of control over their teams, and Charles Comiskey wasn’t particularly liked for an array of reasons. It was after this incident that the position of Commissioner of Baseball was appointed, to ensure that no foul play takes place.

Spot Fixing in Cricket, 2010

Cricket has been no stranger to match fixing scandals, with several incidents taking place in the past few years. In 2010, a test series was taking place in Lords, London, between England and Pakistan. Investigative journalists uncovered that a few Pakistani players had taken bribes from a bookmaker to purposefully bowl no-balls at certain times. As a result, the bowlers involved - Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif, and Mohammad Amir were banned and were sentenced to prison, along with the bookmaker.

Floodlight manipulation

Perhaps one of the more bizarre match fixing incidents in association football, a Malaysian betting syndicate was found attempting to manipulate the floodlight of The Valley, a football stadium in London with the help of a security guard in 1999. Investigations found that this group was behind the floodlight malfunction and subsequent abandonment of a match between West Ham United and Crystal Palace. This resulted in the Asian syndicate receiving a six-figure payout.