Several matches in Europe’s elite club competitions have been exposed to match-fixing, something Handbollskanalen has revealed in a recent series of articles. But so far, no one has been convicted and the European Handball Federation (EHF) says more proof is needed. Handbollskanalen has been in contact with Chris Rasmussen, Denmark’s leading expert in match-fixing issues and professor of sports integrity at the University of New Haven in Connecticut, USA, who suggests that match-fixing is the perfect crime.
“As the systems are built now, it is almost impossible to prove match-fixing,” Rasmussen tells Handbollskanalen.
Match-fixing is ongoing to a very high degree, but there are still very few cases that lead to an in-depth investigation or for that matter a conviction. Chris Rasmussen, Denmark’s leading expert in match-fixing issues, believes that the problems will continue as long as the systems are built as they are today.
“What is missing and what is ridiculous is that it is not possible to collect information from different betting companies. A person can bet money through several different betting companies and no one knows where or how often the person bets their money. You can have 50 people betting on you so it’s really the same system as money laundering. Everyone does what they can but there is no one who has the whole picture, which is annoying.”
The professor believes that it is a problem everywhere but that Sweden has bigger problems than many other countries.
“It is a nightmare in Sweden, only two countries in Europe have more cases of match-fixing than you have in Sweden. Jakob Uddeholt at the Swedish Sports Confederation (RF) does a good job, but that one person and for that matter a person who works with sports investigates it is not good. Jakob should take care of the training and then someone else who is close to the betting companies will take care of all the data. That would at least be a starting point.”
The EHF does not say that the information published by Handbollskanalen is incorrect, but at the same time do not want to confirm the information. Handbollskanalen asks Rasmussen what is an appropriate next step for the EHF in this case to be able to investigate, and how the EHF and others can get the police and other authorities to invest in investigating the specific cases.
“I believe in building a system. Get all the data from all betting companies in one and the same system. Build a system in Sweden and one in Denmark, for example, and then create international cooperation. Of course, it is possible to hide the names of those who have invested money and instead use numbers to characterize these people, but if you then see person 1 use 50 different betting companies and the person is suspicious, it is possible to pass the information on to the police. This in turn can help people who are addicted to gambling.
“As it is now, the person only goes ahead and bets their money on the next betting company if they are suspended by the first.”
The clubs that have been affected by this testify to a feeling of helplessness. Can they do anything more than report?
“When the club has reported what has happened, they should not have to do more. They should focus on playing matches. The sport of handball must then initiate an investigation and it must be independent.
Rasmussen believes that there are several different ways to keep track of and discover if a match is about to be fixed.
“Of course, odds movements are not enough. I saw in Handbollskanalen’s interview with Sportradar that they said that they must be 100 per cent certain for them to discover the match. That’s right and they do a good job. But it also leaves room for up to 50 per cent of matches where they are perhaps 90 per cent sure, which is not enough for them to investigate further. In other words, more matches are fixed than those that Sportradar informs us about.
“What is needed is transaction data from the betting companies. Who has invested money? Where does the money come from? How much does the person usually invest? If they have changed their behavior, why would they do it? Why invest money in handball if you usually bet on basketball? Check out the history of the person who is betting money and if there is anything strange, watch the match live and give the information to the police. Then they can start their examination on day 1 and not day 200 as it is now.”
How important is it to follow the actions of the players and referees during the matches?
“They can have a bad day, but maybe not a bad day for ten games in a row. If you then compare the match when the player was worse than usual with the money bet on the match and maybe also a geographical analysis, you have a pretty clear idea of who performed worse than usual and who is part of the match-fixing.”
Although all of this information is available, you believe it is almost impossible to prove match-fixing. How come?
“The problem is that nothing is gathered in the same system. Sportradar looks at this and when they see something suspicious, they go to the betting companies, who say that there was nothing strange because they only look at the match in question and not at the entire history of the person who bet the money. Going from suspicion to proving match-fixing is, unfortunately, something of a nightmare right now,” concludes Chris Rasmussen.
Footnote: Chris Rasmussen is working daily with Anti-Money Laundering in one of the biggest Scandinavian Banks. Before that, he worked eight years for the European and World Lotteries Association, identifying match-fixing and money laundering in Sports Books. He has been a part of report writing to UEFA, FIFA and IOC. He holds an MBA, Diploma in Anti-Money Laundering and a Minor (MSc) to the Finance Sector.
READ MORE: Handbollskanalen reveals: Match-fixing in the EHF Champions League in autumn 2021
READ MORE: Handbollskanalen reveals, part 2: Swedish club has reported match-fixing
READ MORE: Source confirms: Match fixed in the Champions League
READ MORE: Match-fixing, part 4: A giant scandal – Handbollskanalen dives deep
READ MORE: EHF on suspected matches: ”No legal proceedings have been initiated”
READ MORE: Match-fixing, part 6: ”The work against match-fixing is 15-20 years behind”
READ MORE: Match-fixing, part 7: This is how the Swedish Handball Association works against match-fixing
READ MORE: Match-fixing, part 8: Sportradar explains: ”Since the pandemic, match-fixing has exploded”
READ MORE: Match-fixing, part 9: The survey – one in every four Swedish elite players knows of a fixed match
READ MORE: Match-fixing, part 10: EHF starts match-fixing training for referees and delegates
READ MORE: Match-fixing, part 11: SHF responds to the survey: ”The figure is much too high”