Match fixing in the rich for royal game of cricket is an established fact since quite sometime, but match fixing in tennis is a new & interesting news of the hour. In recent Wimbledon matches, it is suspected that the games have been fixed by professional gambling syndicates. Two former senior scotland yard police officers have been asked to review allegations of match- fixing and illegal betting in tennis after leading bookmakers compiled the complaint.
The Scotland yard police network is one of the best police network in the world. When the allegation is interested to them, it seems that sufficient background is gathered in favour of the allegation. Initial investigation indicates at least 45 matches in recent years, are under suspicion. It is also suspected that a number of players & top professionals are involved in this betting. Eight Wimbledon matches including four of last year, are among those pointed out for scrutiny in a gambling industry dossier of suspect matches played since 2002. The four matches from last year involved foreign players who each lost by three sets. The same players are allegedly involved in suspect matches at other tournaments too.
Five losing players from eight Wimbledon matches are playing in this year’s men’s singles match. According to report, the tournament features 18 players who lost games on the list. A board meeting of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) which runs the men’s singles match has already announced sweeping measures to protect the sport’s integrity & sanity.
The ATP is also taking strong measures to put a carpet ban on tennis betting, not just by players but also their families & outsiders. It also plans to extend tight security around locker rooms to restrict access to players and to prevent criminals obtaining sensitive match informations. As betting is legal in Britain, the betters are keen in getting informations from the reliable sources illegally, to strengthen their chances of winning the bet. Wimbledon attracts more earnings than any other grand slam; hence betting is highly yielding in Wimbledon matches. Keeping all those aspects, the Scotland yard police officers have to be more careful in investigating the allegations & bring the fact into the light and subsequently strong actions have to be recommended by the policy makers to prevent illegal betting in such prestigious matches like Wimbledons.
