NOS
NOS Voetbal•vandaag, 18:00
No less than 27 players from professional football have gambled on matches in which they played themselves or on their own competition in recent months. This is a criminal offense under football regulations. It concerns players from the Dutch premier league (six), first division (nineteen) and second division (two).
The numbers are included in a ‘trend analysis’ by the Sports Betting Intelligence Unit (SBIU), a reporting center of the Gaming Authority for signals of possible match fixing. The document is in the hands of the NOS.
Between October 2021 and December 2022, gambling offices made a total of forty reports to the SBIU about possible match fixing. Twelve times it concerns unusual events in foreign matches, but in almost all other cases football professionals who gamble illegally.
Further investigation by police
In some cases, the report about gambling football players was so suspicious that it is now with the police for further investigation. Concrete details about these cases are not known.
We canceled the bet and contacted the athlete in question.
TOTO about the gambling football players
According to the Gaming Authority, some players appear to bet money on matches in which they play themselves, some only on matches of competing teams in the competition. There were also players who made both types of bets for small amounts.
Ignorance
According to the VVCS, the trade union for professional football players, the signals about the 27 players do not come out of the blue. A recent survey among more than 200 players who play football in the Netherlands showed that eleven percent bet on their own matches or competitions in which they participate themselves.
Why professional footballers are not familiar with the betting rules? According to the players’ union, ignorance plays a major role and there is often no malicious intent. Information to football players about the gambling rules is therefore essential.
Trade union: ‘Football players often not well aware of gambling rules’
Since November, the union has been visiting selections to inform them about gambling rules and the dangers of match fixing. At about every visit, a player raises a hand when asked if they bet on their own matches or competition.
It also appears during this tour of clubs that players are regularly polled online to manipulate matches in exchange for money.
“Betting on matches in your own competitions is explicitly contrary to football regulations,” the KNVB said in a response. The union says it is aware of the 27 reports, but has no further details.
Anonymously
Legislation does not allow betting offices to share information about player names, matches and bets with the KNVB.
“Sports associations only receive an anonymous signal and do not know which player it is,” says the KNVB. “Due to this lack of information, we cannot conduct any further investigation and/or initiate disciplinary proceedings.”
ANP
TOTO sponsors several teams in the premier league. The players in the photo are separate from the coverage in this article.
According to TOTO, this is the world upside down. The betting office saw a football player gambling illegally twice in 2022, but was therefore not allowed to report this to the KNVB.
“We would like to report this to the federations, so that they can guarantee the integrity of the sport and take appropriate measures,” says TOTO, which, like the KNVB and sports umbrella organization NOC*NSF, advocates amending the law in this area.
No rush at government
Where did the 27 reports about football players end up? At the government’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), an organization that annually receives about half a million reports about suspicious money transactions.
In 2021, this organization announced that it would take reports regarding match fixing seriously, but that it would not deal with it urgently in advance. Unions then feared that the fight against match fixing and unwanted gambling behavior would fall behind.
Response Financial Intelligence Unit
According to the Financial Intelligence Unit, the government agency that must investigate reports from betting offices, all 27 football players have been analyzed. Some cases turned out to be so suspicious that they were forwarded to the police. The investigative authorities do not want to say how many cases are involved.
Until now, it rarely happens that football players are caught because of gambling on matches or competitions in which they themselves are active.
Last year, defender Tom Beugelsdijk accepted a five-game suspension (two conditionally), after betting on several premier league matches. AZ midfielder Jordy Clasie was suspended for two games after gambling with his online account on matches of Jong AZ, among other things.
