ABSTRACT
Over the last two decades, there has been a growing awareness of the threats to the integrity of sport. The nature of these threats is heterogeneous. Some refer to the practices, rules, and structures of sports competitions, while others refer to the poor ethical standards of the institutions. Thus, what is sometimes referred to as the “sport integrity industry” has arisen without – until very recently – due regard for the conceptual issues that underpin those ethical threats. In this essay, we address the concept that is euphemistically called “match-fixing” but has been labeled by key agencies such as the Council of Europe, Europol, the International Olympic Committee, Interpol, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime as “Event Manipulation”. We compare and contrast philosophical accounts of such manipulation with institutional definitions and typologies arising from these organizations and associated conventions (most notably the 2014 Macolin Convention) and the countermeasures adopted by three key stakeholders: (i) Sport, (ii) Government, and (iii) Betting Regulators. We argue that the lack of coordinated understandings and efforts has led to difficulties in building successful cases and propose a typology and associated structures to create greater effectiveness across the event manipulation framework.
