FIFA World Cup 2010: Huge Illegal Betting Scam Unearthed
Recently police have arrested over 5000 people in an illegal betting scam that stretched across four countries. The betting concerned the World Cup that just ended. This raises serious questions about the games that were played. If illegal betting was so prominent and 5000 people were involved, could any of the games have been fixed? This has got a lot of people worried because the scale of the illegal betting and dodgy activities that took place could very well have caused a few matches to be fixed. A full in-depth probe is being launched and that will reveal the full story.
Police have raided almost 800 illegal gambling dens in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. More than $10 million was recovered, and assets and documents were seized. It is believed that almost $150 million worth of illegal bets were placed over the course of the tournament. There is a wider problem linked to illegal gambling, because betting dens are also linked to money laundering, prostitution and other crimes. The raids, seizures and arrests were a big blow to criminal networks around the region, and a lot of them have been seriously set back.
This is not in any way a new problem, as a lot of people were arrested during the last World Cup in 2006 as well. In Hong Kong alone, 196 people were arrested in connection to illegal betting scams. It seems that illegal betting is a huge worldwide problem and has been a part of every modern World Cup so far. Illegal betting represents the worst aspect of football. Anytime illegal bets are made, there is the fear that matches could be fixed to influence decisions that favour the illegal bets. This is a problem in many different sports around the world; cricket, rugby and even snooker.
This huge crackdown by the police was only possible because a lot of different police forces in many different countries decided to start cracking down on illegal betting operations even before the World Cup had started. Two days before the World Cup was to start, a special taskforce was set up to monitor and stop illegal betting operations in different countries. Only through effective policing and monitoring could the problem have been tackled. It is encouraging to see that police around the world have stepped up their tactics to combat the illegal betting dens around the world and preserve the beautiful game. With greater cooperation and effective police strength, the problem of illegal gambling and corruption can be ended for good. Unsanctioned betting and gambling can turn football into a farcical activity where every match is fixed and all players are working for money and criminal kingpins.
A big problem with gambling in Asia is the fact that it affects young people under the age of 18 to a great extent. Betting is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 in Hong Kong, and in a survey it was found that a large proportion of youngsters had bet on the World Cup or were going to in the future. The issue with gambling is that it is very addictive, and the allure of getting much more money than you put in is a great motivator to keep on betting. Sometimes it can get out of hand and people can get wholly consumed by it, but some people can effectively control themselves. Gambling on sports events can get seriously out of hand and then it goes into the realm of illegal activities where criminals get involved, matches start to get fixed and the whole activity becomes seedy and dodgy.
It is great to hear that police have stopped a major betting den that could have fixed football matches. These elements need to be weeded out of the world of sports to bring back the good aspects of football. If illegal betting can be completely stopped or forced to operate in such a small amount that it does not have the power to affect matches at a World Cup stage, then we will be on the right path and the game can be saved. Hopefully football will not turn into another cricket, where it seems as if every match is fixed and every player has been bought.
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