Spain’s gambling regulator, General Directorate for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ), detected possible match-fixing violations through its Global Betting Market Research Service (SIGMA) unit.
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs signed an agreement with the General Directorate of the Police, the division of the Ministry of the Interior responsible for the country’s National Police, to carry out the criminal investigation into potential match-fixing.
Under the agreement, the National Police will be permitted access into the SIGMA database and will be charged with investigating the alerts raised by the system in sports events and betting.
Spain launches body to combat match-fixing
Launched through Spain’s October 2022 overhaul of the country’s gambling laws, SIGMA is a body that is designed to enable organisations registered on its network to cooperate to mitigate match-fixing and fraud through the processing of personal data.
At present the network includes a number of entities involved in Spanish professional sports including the National Sports Council, sports federations, professional leagues and licensed gaming operators. The organisation is managed by the DGOJ.
In order to monitor the progress of the initiative, the DGOJ and DGP are to create a “Monitoring Commission”. This body – which is to be created within one month – is to meet once a year, although can be convened at any time if requested by any of the two government departments.
The agreement, which also ensures data shared between the organisations is confidential, is valid for a four-year period.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/legal-compliance/spain-police-to-investigate-match-fixing-allegations/
