Tennis

Donsteppa

Hmmm... 
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11575611'>http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11575611</a>
 
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote">

Tennis match fixing: Secret files allege corruption at top levels of world tennis

<div>11:16 AM Monday Jan 18, 2016</div>
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<img height="310" src="http://media.nzherald.co.nz/webcontent/image/jpg/20164/Tennis4_620x310.jpg" width="620" alt="Tennis4_620x310.jpg">The cache of documents passed to the BBC and Buzzfeed News include the findings of an investigation set up in 2007 by the ATP. Photo / Getty Images.</div>
Secret files which allegedly contain evidence of widespread match fixing at the top levels of world tennis have been revealed.
Dozens of top world players are suspected to have been involved in match fixing, with some reported to tennis officials over suspicions that they deliberately lost matches.
The files, released in an investigation conducted <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/35319202'>by the BBC and BuzzFeed News</a>, allegedly show that gambling syndicates around the world made hundreds of thousands of pounds by betting on matches that were believed to have been fixed.
No names are named, but from a hardcore group of 16 players who were involved when the scourge was at its height in the latter part of the Noughties, some are still on the circuit.
It is alleged that more than half of them are in the starting field for the Australian Open, which begins tomorrow.
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The findings of the investigation by both news organisations included:
* A US Open champion and doubles winners at Wimbledon were among a core group of 16 players who had repeatedly been reported for losing games when highly suspicious bets have been placed against them.
* One top-50 ranked player competing in the Australian Open is suspected of repeatedly fixing his first set.
* Players were being targeted in hotel rooms at major tournaments and offered US$50,000 ($73,100) or more per fix by corrupt gamblers.
* Gambling syndicates in Russia and Italy have made hundreds of thousands of pounds sterling placing highly suspicious bets on scores of matches - including at Wimbledon and the French Open.
* The names of more than 70 players appear on nine leaked lists of suspected fixers who have been flagged to world tennis authorities over the past decade without being sanctioned.
The evidence uncovered by the investigation included a bundle of leaked internal documents - the so-called 'Fixing Files' - and analysis of betting on 26,000 tennis matches.
- More to come.
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I don't follow tennis closely enough to know whether this has been rumoured for ages, or is a bolt from the blue (despite apparent behind the scenes investigations)?

Virgil

Be very similar to cricket in that it's a sport open to 'spot fixing' 
Bets broken into individual points/games/sets etc 
Double faults be similar to bowling no balls..

MajorRage

BBC breaks this on the morning the Aussie open begins.. I smell an Ashes conspiracy!

Crucial

Does Chris Cairns play tennis?

SammyC

Link to the original Buzzfeed article below, it's a good read.
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.buzzfeed.com/heidiblake/the-tennis-racket#.urvYzym2E'>http://www.buzzfeed.com/heidiblake/the-tennis-racket#.urvYzym2E</a>
 
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Donsteppa" data-cid="553051" data-time="1453076214">
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I don't follow tennis closely enough to know whether this has been rumoured for ages, or is a bolt from the blue (despite apparent behind the scenes investigations)?
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 The suspicions around Davydenko have certainly been known for a while.

SammyC

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Virgil" data-cid="553056" data-time="1453077636">
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Be very similar to cricket in that it's a sport open to 'spot fixing' 
Bets broken into individual points/games/sets etc 
Double faults be similar to bowling no balls..
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The article generally refers to match fixing, not spot fixing.
 
I doubt any betting agencies would take bets on double faults anyway.

Virgil

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="SammyC" data-cid="553078" data-time="1453079505">The article generally refers to match fixing, not spot fixing. 
I doubt any betting agencies would take bets on double faults anyway.</blockquote>
 
Harder to prove, if tennis is soiled then you can't rule out any possibility. 
Probably depends if Indian bookies are involved or not....

booboo

Only "Hundreds of thousands of pounds" ... really? 
I don't think they're doing it right

SammyC

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Virgil" data-cid="553090" data-time="1453080483">
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Harder to prove, if tennis is soiled then you can't rule out any possibility. 
Probably depends if Indian bookies are involved or not....
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The whole spot fixing scandal within cricket is another discussion. (was covered at length in the Cairns thread)
 
But I will say this...... Indian bookmakers were as confused as anyone else about the Amir no ball stuff.
 
It's not possible to bet on that scenario in India.

No Quarter

Not legally...

SammyC

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="No Quarter" data-cid="553103" data-time="1453083341">
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Not legally...
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All sports betting in India is illegal.
 
This was discuused at length in the Cairns thread, but I suggest you read "Bookie, Gambler, Fixer, Spy".
 
The image that you guys have of players bowling no balls to order (or serving up double faults) and some bookmaker or Gambler in India making money from that is crap. The way the western media report this stuff is just plain wrong.

barbarian

This isn't a new problem, and has been around the lower levels for a while now.
 
Grantland (RIP) did this great article a while ago about betting in the Futures Leagues, really interesting stuff:
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://grantland.com/features/the-futures-is-bleak/ '>http://grantland.com/features/the-futures-is-bleak/ </a>

Donsteppa

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Crucial" data-cid="553064" data-time="1453078164">
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Does Chris Cairns play tennis?
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A lucrative career move? :)

Donsteppa

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="SammyC" data-cid="553106" data-time="1453084161">
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All sports betting in India is illegal.
 
This was discuused at length in the Cairns thread, but I suggest you read "Bookie, Gambler, Fixer, Spy".
 
The image that you guys have of players bowling no balls to order (or serving up double faults) and some bookmaker or Gambler in India making money from that is crap. The way the western media report this stuff is just plain wrong. 
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I keep meaning to track it down but have yet to order it...
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/652915.html'>http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/652915.html</a>
 
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote">
 
... Even when trying to confirm a genuine fix, Hawkins retains a healthy dose of scepticism when it comes to the biggest gamblers boasting about what they control. The News of The World <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.espncricinfo.com/infocus/content/story/infocus.html?subject=44'>"no-ball" fix</a> was merely Mazhar Majeed trying to display his influence, it turns out - no bookmaker, even in India's illegal industry, takes bets on no-balls.
 
Hawkins proves that cricket's corruption need not touch every single player, but that it does permeate many layers. Fixes exists, more in domestic games like county cricket and the IPL - too many matches, too many players. They mark a key step in the tug of war for inside information, and the advent of pre-scripted passages of play that move match odds in either the bookie's or the punter's favour, rather than only dictating the result of a game.
 
Every cricket fan should read Bookie Gambler Fixer Spy to get a grasp of reality. Cricket is a game of much beauty but we must accept that it co-exists with what looks like an indestructible ugliness.
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SammyC

Highly recommend it Donsteppa.
 
it will change your perspective of cricket and sports betting. 
 
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="barbarian" data-cid="553107" data-time="1453084214">
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This isn't a new problem, and has been around the lower levels for a while now.
 
Grantland (RIP) did this great article a while ago about betting in the Futures Leagues, really interesting stuff:
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://grantland.com/features/the-futures-is-bleak/ '>http://grantland.com/features/the-futures-is-bleak/ </a>
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Excellent read, thanks for posting

Donsteppa

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="SammyC" data-cid="553111" data-time="1453085048">
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Highly recommend it Donsteppa.
 
it will change your perspective of cricket and sports betting. 
 
 
Excellent read, thanks for posting
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My only concern is that it'll give me more detail on the specifics, but will do very little to change my existing fear along the lines that "Cricket is a game of much beauty but we must accept that it co-exists with what looks like an indestructible ugliness."

Siam

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Donsteppa" data-cid="553112" data-time="1453085214">
My only concern is that it'll give me more detail on the specifics, but will do very little to change my existing fear along the lines that "Cricket is a game of much beauty but we must accept that it co-exists with what looks like an indestructible ugliness."</blockquote>
Nah its a more proactive antifixing environment now Don. 
The betting is still huge in India but the whole thing falls down if players don't subscribe and can't recruit other players. 
A valid reason to protect and not disadvantage whistleblowers. Not other guilty players, but the ones who get approached and turn it down. 
There'll never be a paper trail or real proof, only taped conversations or testimonies, as we saw in London last year

No Quarter

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="SammyC" data-cid="553106" data-time="1453084161">
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All sports betting in India is illegal.
 
This was discuused at length in the Cairns thread, but I suggest you read "Bookie, Gambler, Fixer, Spy".
 
The image that you guys have of players bowling no balls to order (or serving up double faults) and some bookmaker or Gambler in India making money from that is crap. The way the western media report this stuff is just plain wrong. 
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Will do Sammy, thanks.

Crucial

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="SammyC" data-cid="553111" data-time="1453085048">Highly recommend it Donsteppa. 
it will change your perspective of cricket and sports betting. 
Excellent read, thanks for posting</blockquote>
 
So if our understanding of how spot fixing works is wrong then Lou Vincents testimony was bullshit. He explicitly described scenarios along the lines of how we imagine it works (and how I expect tennis does)

antipodean

TBH this would be the only way to make tennis worth watching.

gollum

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Crucial" data-cid="553138" data-time="1453092959">
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So if our understanding of how spot fixing works is wrong then Lou Vincents testimony was bullshit. He explicitly described scenarios along the lines of how we imagine it works (and how I expect tennis does)
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You very much USED to be able to bet on things like no balls in first over, runs between over 10-15 etc, till everyone realised how easy that was to fix - and was fixed. Go back to the 90's that was a viable bet. Not any more.

Tim

The analysis used in the investigation is detailed here:
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='https://github.com/BuzzFeedNews/2016-01-tennis-betting-analysis'>https://github.com/BuzzFeedNews/2016-01-tennis-betting-analysis</a>

raznomore

Please don't let my precious roger be involved....Unless he been throwing the last 4 years worths of Grand Slam finals. Then he's even more awesome...

NTA

Djokovic has said in the press that he was approached early in his career with $200K to throw a game. It was reported at the time apparently, which makes the tennis bosses look like pricks in light of recent reporting.

No Quarter

I see Nadal suspiciously lost his opening match of the Australian open...

NTA

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="No Quarter" data-cid="553328" data-time="1453193469">I see Nadal suspiciously lost his opening match of the Australian open...</blockquote>
My thoughts exactly

Virgil

The woman's number 2 seed was beaten as well, the fix is well and truly on...

Donsteppa

The last three posts are again what make me loathe match/spot fixers so much - we go from random things being "the joys of sport" to being possibly suspicious (even in jest).

Virgil

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Donsteppa" data-cid="553350" data-time="1453226161">The last three posts are again what make me loathe match/spot fixers so much - we go from random things being "the joys of sport" to being possibly suspicious (even in jest).</blockquote>
 
It's like every time Pakistan lose a cricket match, either a game they should have gone on to win ( shelling easy catches, batsmen throwing away their wicket) or a truly poor performance against a lower side they should always beat. It's Pakistan they do fall apart for legitimate reasons sometimes, but we will always suspect they are on the take.

ploughboy

have just read david walshs book the program( about lance armstrong) then seen the movie.it makes you question so much about sport.

Crucial

In a way, fixing in tennis is probably one of the more damaging ones. A cricketer throwing away his wicket at a certain point is an event that could have happened anyway, and unless a whole team is in on a fix then still leaves the other players all doing the 'right' thing.
Tennis though is one on one. Spectators only pay and watch because they see entertainment in watching a competition between two players. Fixing removes that competition and they are watching a complete farce.
Sure, a clever player could even provide them with more entertainment, falling behind then battling back only to fail in the end but I doubt that happens

reprobate

and a very easy one due to only needing one person to fix, and that fixing effort is impossible to be undermined by the performance of any other player - short of injury to the other.
 
buncha fluffybunnies.

Crucial

I wonder what other sports are rife for fixing?
 
Golf? Too random maybe? The variables of erractic form, different courses and weather make betting on golf a mugs game anyway. Possibly some ability to influence in the last round once variables have settled but then the money for players by doing their best probably outweighs what a fixer would pay. Maybe some profit in where a middle of the pack player ends up on the results sheet but even then he would be having to work around the performances of others.
 
Soccer? Really only goalies and maybe defenders being able to influence scores or results. But only when the chance presents itself by the general play.
 
Darts? Plenty of scope there.
 
Rugby? Pretty low chance. would need to be the captain taking options (when penalties present themselves)

Bovidae

As Federer said, let's see some names. According to the TV news, one of the names on the list is a former US Open champ. Given the geographical locations of the betting syndicates who made millions on match fixing one name stands out.
 
Crucial, baseball and basketball are two sports that spring to mind. Baseball could be manipulated in the same way as cricket with balls and strikes.

booboo

Re rugby ... first scoring play or first stoppage could be up there. Much like the leaguie in the NRL. Bulldogs v Cowboys? 
...yep, have looked it up. Ryan Tandy.

booboo

Lankans having some issues in crikay ... 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://m.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11576482'>http://m.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11576482</a> 
Approaches only apparently.

barbarian

Tennis is the perfect sport for this, no doubt. Has all of the conditions:
 
- Multiple markets that are easily manipulated without necessarily altering the end result (eg set by set betting)
- Markets offered on low level circuits such as challenger and futures tournaments that no-one cares about
- Said tournaments have fuck all prizemoney, making fixing a far more lucrative option
 
I read an article (which I can't find now) which detailed a common fix strategy in the low level circuits. Two players would agree to split the first two sets in an agreed order (player A gets the first, B the second) and then play for the chocolates in the 3rd with no restrictions. Their mates would load up on each set and make a killing, while the integrity of the match itself was somewhat preserved.

Tim

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Crucial" data-cid="553368" data-time="1453237521">
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I wonder what other sports are rife for fixing?
 
Golf? Too random maybe? The variables of erractic form, different courses and weather make betting on golf a mugs game anyway. Possibly some ability to influence in the last round once variables have settled but then the money for players by doing their best probably outweighs what a fixer would pay. Maybe some profit in where a middle of the pack player ends up on the results sheet but even then he would be having to work around the performances of others.
 
Soccer? Really only goalies and maybe defenders being able to influence scores or results. But only when the chance presents itself by the general play.
 
Darts? Plenty of scope there.
 
Rugby? Pretty low chance. would need to be the captain taking options (when penalties present themselves)
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</blockquote>
 
Don't forget referees.
 
BTW, there's been a ton of fixing in the lower leagues of soccer.

Allstar

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Crucial" data-cid="553368" data-time="1453237521">
<div> Soccer? Really only goalies and maybe defenders being able to influence scores or results. But only when the chance presents itself by the general play.
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</blockquote>
This guy....
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Grobbelaar#Match-fixing_allegations'>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Grobbelaar#Match-fixing_allegations</a>

barbarian

So someone has punched all the numbers from the Buzzfeed investigation, and here are the 15 names. One is a biggie:
 
<img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BFEdKAW0QHs/Vp9w0B76O0I/AAAAAAAADc0/NCq8_6ui_XI/s400/fix1.jpg" alt="fix1.jpg">

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