Canadian Government Executive - Volume 22

Governing Digitally

Jeffrey Roy

n January, the BBC and BuzzFeed jointly

released an exposé on gambling in tennis,

aptly titled “The Tennis Racket.” The year’s

inaugural grand slam, the Australian Open,

thus featured action both on and off the court as

pundits and players alike debated the serious-

ness of the problem and the future of the sport.

At the heart of the matter: the Internet and mo-

bile devices. Online gambling sites (legal in some

instances, other times not--more on that below)

facilitate not merely betting on the outcomes of

any match worldwide, but smaller details as well.

Want to wager on the number of double faults by

a player in the first set? Not a problem.

The top-ranking male, Novak Djokovic, has ad-

mitted to receiving an offer of $200K to throw a

2007 match at a Russian tournament. He declined

and avoided the event, no doubt the right call in

light of his nearly $100 million in career earnings

and counting. Yet for the penniless player rel-

egated to the bottom rungs of professional ten-

nis, even a much smaller amount brings much

greater temptation. Still, the BBC report claimed

that sixteen players, who have at one point been

ranked in the top fifty in singles or doubles, were

identified as suspect in a 2008 internal report

commissioned by tennis itself.

Rocked by such revelations (further amplified

in January by a Swedish player and coach plead-

ing guilty to match fixing charges in an Austra-

lian court), the Association of Tennis Profession-

als (ATP) acted. An independent investigative

body has been formed, with the ATP proactively

committing to acceptance of all forthcoming rec-

ommendations (likely next year).

Tennis is not alone in facing scrutiny. In late

2015, the New York State Attorney General or-

dered the two largest North American fantasy

sports companies (DraftKings and FanDuel) to

stop accepting bets from state residents. The Ca-

nadian Gaming Association, a trade group repre-

senting various stakeholders including casinos,

subsequently released a legal opinion claiming

that such activity is illegal under Canada’s Crimi-

nal Code.

Others disagree, notably the fantasy sports plat-

forms themselves, having long argued that their

offerings constitute “games of skill” rather than

gambling (the latter more inherently based on

chance). All major team sports have growing finan-

cial dealings with fantasy sports, the NHL having

invested in DraftKings as has Major League Base-

ball. Estimates from the fantasy sports industry

association suggest that there are more than 40

million North American customers--and growing.

According to TSN, various sports leagues are

grappling with whether to instill new policies

regarding the conduct of players. The NFL, for

instance, allows players to wager no more than

$250 per year, requiring players and coaches to

certify each year their understanding of the rules

and restrictions imposed by the league. The NHL

has no much policy at this time.

TSN has reported that illegal sports gambling

in Canada is estimated to surpass $15 billion an-

nually, with a third of that amount online and

offshore. In light of such shadows, Parliament

recently considered, and ultimately rejected, a

private member’s Bill (C-290) that would have

legalized single-sport event gambling in Canada

(the NDP has indicated its intention to revive the

bill at some point in the future).

Large global sports gatherings also face grow-

ing challenges. The implosion of World Cup Soc-

cer’s organizing body, FIFA, is a case in point.

There are ongoing corruption scandals plaguing

Brazil as it prepares to host the Olympics this

summer. It is perhaps telling that when bids

came due for the 2022 winter Olympics, all but

China and Kazakhstan had abandoned their ef-

forts, leaving insular Beijing as likely to be the

first city to host both summer and winter games.

The commercialization of professional sports

benefits mightily from globalizing audiences and

markets on the one hand, and virtualization on

the other hand. Such forces transcend tradition-

al guardian functions of the public sector often

stunted by national borders and limited forms of

international cooperation.

According to the former captain of the US

Men’s Davis Cup Team, Patrick McEnroe, ten-

nis reacted with openness and independence

only in the face of escalating media scrutiny and

the prospect of intervention by Great Britain’s

Parliament (Prime Minister David Cameron is

reportedly a troubled and influential tennis fan).

For tennis and for sports more widely, self-gover-

nance is a fallacy.

effrey

is professor in the School of

Public Administration at Dalhousie

University

(roy@dal.ca)

The Troubled Governance of Sports Gambling

/ Canadian Government Executive

// April 2016

TSN has reported

that illegal sports

gambling in

Canada is

estimated to

surpass $15 billion

annually, with

a third of that

amount online

and offshore.