Betting summit decides to keep watch on wagers made during London 2012 Olympic Games
The first of its kind betting summit was held on Tuesday March 20 between representatives of the betting industry as well as the officials from the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and it was decided that the bookmakers will be monitoring
the odd huge bets that would be placed on minor sport events during the upcoming London 2012 Olympic Games.
Mike O’Kane, who is the Business Director at British bookmaker Ladbrokes and acted as the chair of the summit that was held in Westminster, expressed himself in the following manner on the issue, “If I see a bet of more than 50 pounds I’ll be looking at
who it is, because I'm not expecting 50 pounds on weightlifting or badminton. What we've got to do is make sure that the market isn't able to influence a participant and that is something the IOC (International Olympic Committee) has got to get hold of. You've
got to ask yourself the question if you're an Olympic participant are you going to risk all of the kudos of representing your country and for what financial gain.”
According to the rules of the IOC, the members of the Olympic delegations which will be arriving in London for the Olympic Games that start from July 27 are banned to be involved with betting. The ban will be operational on all athletes, officials as well
as referees from every country who sends their delegation to be represented at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Despite the fact that there are concerns that illegal betting would take place during the Olympic Games, according to the British betting industry, the bettors would be distracted by the Euro 2012 football tournament that would be taking place in June, parallel
to the Olympic Games.
Not only that, the football tournament would be deemed a much better investment as compared to the Olympic Games by the bettors.
However, the bookmakers as well as the London organizers agreed that illegal betting from the Asian region might affect the Olympic Games. Specifically, there is a potential threat from the back street bookmakers that are present in Asia.
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