Police to crack down on match fixing at Australian Open

Melbourne, Dec 21 - Following recent complaints of match-fixing in international tennis, Tennis Australia has set up a task force to monitor Australian Open matches next month. Access to players will be restricted in an unprecedented crackdown, Australian media reports said.

The task force to fight corruption will team with detectives and betting agencies to detect suspicious gambling patterns and tainted players.

Match riggers face up to 15 years in jail and cheating players and support staff will be slapped with life bans under extraordinary measures announced Friday to protect the Grand Slam tournament.

The Tennis Australia Anti-Corruption Commission will oversee extra security to restrict access to players; a confidential hotline for those involved in the tournament; a block on gambling websites on publicly accessible computers at the Open; banning unauthorised use of laptops courtside; an education and awareness programme to run before and during the event; a special squad of detectives to spearhead investigations into match-fixing allegations.

Alleged offenders will face police action and/or special anti-corruption commission hearings.

The nation's biggest sports betting agency, TAB Sportsbet, welcomed the move, which follows international concerns that match fixing has infiltrated the sport.

The men's game has been rocked by a series of allegations in recent months, with several top players saying they had been offered bribes to throw matches. They all said they had rebuffed the offers.

Criminal gambling syndicates have also tried to rig women's matches, with gang members approaching players to throw matches or give inside information.

Tennis Australia chief Steve Wood said authorities were determined to maintain the tournament's integrity with a tough stance.

'We don't believe our sport has a corruption problem but we do recognise that a threat to the integrity of tennis exists,' Wood said.

TAB Sportsbet spokesman Gary Davies supported the bid to stifle illegal gambling.

'We want punters to be confident of what they are betting on,' Davies said.

(c) Indo-Asian News Service

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