Lottery Community calls for global action as Macolin convention historically enters into force
The European Lotteries Association (EL), the Global Lottery Monitoring System (GLMS) and the World Lottery Association (WLA) urge more countries around the world to sign and ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Sports Competition Manipulations (Macolin Convention) as soon as possible. As a vital step in the fight against corruption in sport, now is the time for global action. The global lottery community welcomes the entry into force of this ground-breaking Convention on 1 September 2019.
As the only legally binding international treaty promoting global co-operation to tackle the manipulation of sports competitions, the Macolin Convention's entering into force is an historic milestone for fair play and integrity in sport. The Convention covers all topics relative to the fight against match-fixing including: national and international cooperation; the sharing of information; national platforms; criminal provisions; whistle-blowers protection; education and prevention; conflicts of interest; and measures against illegal sports betting.
Since the conceptualisation and drafting phase of the Convention, the global lottery community – through GLMS, the WLA, and EL – has fully supported the initiative and assisted the Council of Europe in its efforts to promote the Convention and support states with the implementation of its provisions. The work must now begin on the Convention’s implementation and the establishment of the Follow-Up Committee, and concrete measures against corruption in sports must be taken forthwith.
GLMS President, Ludovico Calvi has stated: “We are delighted to finally see the Convention entering into force. We now need to focus on its implementation as well as the preparation of the activities of the Follow-Up Committee. In the upcoming phase, GLMS is very much looking forward to further supporting the Council of Europe with the promotion of the Convention and all on-going and upcoming relevant work streams, such as the setting-up of the Follow-Up Committee, the initiatives of the Group of Copenhagen and the KCOOS+ project”.
Supporting Ludovico's statement, Jean-Luc Moner-Banet, Chair of the WLA Sports Betting Integrity Committee said, “This is indeed an historical day for many of us. The Convention will no doubt play a vital role in eradicating match-fixing, a phenomenon that jeopardises the very credibility and inspirational value of sports. On behalf of WLA and its members, I urge states across the globe to proceed with its ratification and the implementation of its provisions. We also call upon states to set up national platforms and take concrete measures against illegal sports betting, as required by the Convention”.
Finally, EL Secretary General, Arjan van ’t Veer adds "Sharing a strong commitment to values-driven sport, the European Lotteries community is also delighted to welcome this development. This Convention is of key importance since - apart from providing clear guidelines on how a state can globally combat this phenomenon - it also delivers for the first time a clear legal basis for the fight against illegal sports betting, which is indispensable for the effective implementation of all provisions of the Convention. We urge more European states to sign and ratify the Convention as soon as possible to protect athletes and society as a whole’’.
ENDS
Links
- The text of the Council of Europe Convention of the manipulation of Sports Competitions can be accessed here
- Lotteries join forces with the Council of Europe and key stakeholders to keep crime out of sport (article available here)
- GLMS signs agreement with the CoE to contribute to Group of Copenhagen’s monitoring activities (article available here)
- CoE, Lotteries, sport and public authorities join their voice for the importance of the Macolin Convention (article available here)
Contacts
The European Lotteries - EL
Lucy Lenaers-Mathieson, Communications Officer, Email: lucy.mathieson@european-lotteries.eu, Tel: +32 2 234 38 23
Global Lottery Monitoring System - GLMS
Evangelos Alexandrakis, Deputy General Secretary, Email: evangelos.alexandrakis@glms-sport.org, Tel: +41 792608666
The World Lottery Association – WLA
Paul Peinado, Senior Operations Manager, Program Management, Email: paul.peinado@world-lotteries.org, Tel: +41 61 544 1103
About the Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions
The Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions is the first legally binding international tool to fight sport competition manipulations. Its purpose is to prevent, detect and punish the manipulation of sports competitions, as well as to enhance the exchange of information and national and international co-operation between the public authorities concerned and with sports organisations and sports betting operators. The Macolin Convention will enter into force on 1 September 2019 thanks to its ratification by Italy, Moldova, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland and Ukraine. Another 32 countries, including Australia, have also signed it. Within 12 months from the date of the entry into force, the Council of Europe needs to set up and convene the Follow-Up Committee. The states that have ratified will be represented in the Committee.
About EL
The European Lotteries Association (EL) is the European umbrella organisation of national lotteries operating games of chance for the public benefit. EL has members from more than 40 European countries including all EU Member States. The association’s EU members contribute more than 20 billion EUR p.a. to the state budgets and the funding of sport, culture, social projects, research and other causes of general interest. Unlike many commercial online gambling operators, EL members only offer gambling and betting services in the jurisdictions in which they are licensed by the respective national government. Website: www.european-lotteries.org, Twitter @EuropeLotteries, LinkedIn
About GLMS
GLMS is the state lotteries’ mutualized monitoring system on sports betting. It aims at detecting and analyzing suspicious betting activities that could question the integrity of a sport competition. Building on six years of experience with the establishment in 2009 of ELMS with European Lotteries, GLMS went global in January 2015 extending the network to other continents. GLMS facilitates the sharing of sports betting information as part of the collective efforts of its members in ensuring sports integrity globally, and is dedicated to effective cooperation with all key stakeholders: regulators, law enforcement authorities, sports organizations. GLMS currently has 32 individual Members from 4 continents (Österreichische Lotterien - Austria, Loterie Nationale – Belgium, Hrvatska Lutrija – Croatia, SAZKA – Czech Republic, Danske Spil – Denmark, Veikkaus – Finland, La Française Des Jeux – France, Staatliche Loterieverwaltung in Bayern – Germany, Opap SA – Greece, Szerencsejatek – Hungary, Islenk Getspa – Iceland, Israel Sports Betting Board - Israel, Lottomatica – Italy, Sisal – Italy, Maltco Lotteries Ltd – Malta, Norsk Tipping – Norway, Santa Casa De Misericordia da Lisboa – Portugal, STOLOTO – Russia, Sportna Loterija – Slovenia, Svenska Spel – Sweden, Loterie Romande – Switzerland, Swisslos – Switzerland, Nederlandse Loterij, the Netherlands, Hong Kong Jockey Club – Hong Kong, Singapore Pools – Singapore, Ktoto Co – South Korea, China Sports Lottery – China, Loto-Québec- Canada, Polla Chilena de Beneficencia – Chile, Banca de Quinielas de Montevideo – Uruguay, La Marocaine des Jeux et des Sports, Morocco, Loterie Nationale du Sénégal – Senegal) and 2 collective Members (European Lotteries Association and World Lottery Association).GLMS has 3 associate Members: Scientific Games International (SGI), INTRALOT and IGT
About the WLA
The World Lottery Association (WLA) is an international, member-based organization of state-authorized lotteries and suppliers to the global lottery industry. WLA Lottery Members are organizations licensed or authorized to conduct lotteries or sports betting operations in a jurisdiction domiciled in a state recognized by the United Nations. The majority of their net revenues must be dedicated to supporting the public good. As stipulated by the WLA Code of Conduct, all WLA Member Lotteries may only sell their products to consumers within the jurisdiction in which they are licensed. WLA Associate Members are suppliers of goods and services to the lottery or sports betting industries whose business practices conform to the aims and objectives of the association. Currently, there are more than 145 WLA Lottery Members and more than 70 WLA Associate Members drawn from over 80 countries.