Research suggests that match-fixing in sports is a persistent and complex issue, occurring across multiple levels and involving various actors. Studies have detected abnormal betting patterns indicative of potential match-fixing in football leagues (Deutscher et al., 2017) and professional tennis (Rodenberg & Feustel, 2014). Match-fixing schemes often include players, referees, team officials, and even organized criminals, with corruption occurring at both the local and international levels (Hill, 2009; Spapens, 2021). These schemes can range from minor influence over specific in-game events to full-scale manipulation of match outcomes for financial gain.
While illegal betting markets are frequently blamed for enabling match-fixing, legal betting frameworks may also contribute by reinforcing the commodification of athletes as betting objects, potentially increasing their exposure to corruption (Tak et al., 2018). Moreover, the role of bookmakers in match-fixing is not always passive, as monopolistic betting operators may have financial incentives to allow or even induce fixing to maximize profitability (Bag & Saha, 2017). The true prevalence of match-fixing remains difficult to quantify, but some studies suggest that dozens of matches across different sports are affected annually (Rodenberg & Feustel, 2014).
Efforts to combat match-fixing focus on fraud detection systems that monitor betting markets for suspicious activity, as well as regulatory interventions to limit certain types of bets that are particularly vulnerable to manipulation (van Rompuy, 2015). Policy discussions continue regarding the effectiveness of such measures, particularly as technology facilitates both the detection of and participation in corrupt betting practices. While enhanced monitoring and regulation may help mitigate the problem, match-fixing remains a significant challenge for sports integrity worldwide.
Studies suggest that dozens of matches across different sports are affected annually
Summary of: Rodenberg & Feustel 2014
Anecdote
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Articles Cited
- “C. Deutscher, Eugen Dimant, B. Humphreys (2017): Match Fixing and Sports Betting in Football: Empirical Evidence from the German Bundesliga, https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2910662
- The paper examines betting volume on the Betfair exchange for Bundesliga 1 football matches from 2010/11 to 2014/15 to look for evidence of match fixing, particularly by referees, and finds that betting volume in the over/under 2.5 goals markets was systematically higher for a small number of referees compared to other referees, suggesting potential match fixing by those referees.”
- “R. Rodenberg, Elihu D. Feustel (2014): Forensic Sports Analytics: Detecting And Predicting Match-Fixing In Tennis, https://doi.org/10.5750/JPM.V8I1.866
- The paper aims to detect and predict match-fixing in tennis by comparing proxy measures of effort in fair versus potentially unfair matches, and by using predictive tennis models to determine if the betting markets are affected by manipulation or fixing before the match is played.”
- “P. Bag, B. Saha (2017): Corrupt Bookmaking in a Fixed Odds Illegal Betting Market, https://doi.org/10.1111/ecoj.12483
- The paper studies illegal betting in a two-team sports contest, where a monopolist bookmaker can bribe a team to reduce its probability of winning in order to increase the bookmaker’s profits, and examines the conditions under which match-fixing is an optimal strategy for the bookmaker.”
- “Ben van Rompuy (2015): The Odds of Match Fixing – Facts & Figures on the Integrity Risk of Certain Sports Bets, https://doi.org/10.2139/SSRN.2555037
- This study provides the first-ever empirical evidence on the integrity risks associated with certain types of sports bets, based on data from Sportradar’s Fraud Detection System and Betfair betting data.”
- “D. Hill (2009): How Gambling Corruptors Fix Football Matches, https://doi.org/10.1080/16184740903332018
- The paper examines how gambling corruptors organize and execute the fixing of football matches, based on extensive qualitative and quantitative research including over 220 interviews and the creation of databases on fixed and presumed honest matches.”
- “Minhyeok Tak, Michael P. Sam, S. Jackson (2018): The problems and causes of match-fixing: are legal sports betting regimes to blame?, https://doi.org/10.1108/JCRPP-01-2018-0006
- The paper critically reviews how match-fixing is viewed as a policy problem and analyzes how legal sports betting regimes contribute to the routine occurrence of match-fixing.”
- “T. Spapens (2021): Match-Fixing, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56592-3_9
- The paper questions the common assumptions that match-fixing is mainly the work of “”outsiders”” like organized criminals targeting “”insiders””, and that it is mostly linked to illegal Asian gambling operators.”
- “P. Bag, B. Saha (2017): Match‐Fixing in a Monopoly Betting Market, https://doi.org/10.1111/jems.12172
- The paper presents a formal model of match-fixing in a monopoly betting market, where a monopolist bookmaker may set betting odds on a fairly even contest to induce match-fixing by an influential corrupt punter.”
Insufficient Detail?
At times it is difficult to answer the question as there are not enough relevant published journal articles to relate. It could be that the topic is niche, there’s a significant edge (and researchers prefer not to publish), there is no edge or simply no one has thought to investigate.
