Victorian Government to introduce tough match fixing laws

 
Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu announced this week that the coalition government will introduce new legislation to parliament this week to help guard against match fixing and protect the integrity of sport.  The Crimes Amendment (Integrity in Sport) Bill 2013 targets people who attempt to engage in match fixing, race fixing and spot fixing, including facilitating that conduct, concealing it or using corrupt information for betting purposes.  The legislation is aligned with laws recently introduced in New South Wales and similar legislation currently before the South Australian Parliament. The legislation in Victoria is in response to the findings of the 2011 Review of Sports Betting Regulation conducted by former chairman of stewards for Racing Victoria, Des Gleeson. For a review on the current  sports betting debate in Australia, read our previous e-brief here.