Patrik Hofbauer, Svenska Spel’s chief executive has come to give his backing to plans which will be introducing a ban on select betting markets in Sweden in an attempt to help clamp down on match fixing in sport.
After being discussed yesterday during a meeting between Swedish Social Security Minister Ardalan Shekarabi and representatives from both the Swedish Football Association and Swedish Ice Hockey Association, the plans include bans on betting markets which can be influenced by a single player in a match. This includes corners and yellow and red cards.
Hofbauer has said that he would support such a move, where he said match fixing is already a problem for the sports and gambling industries. He also commented that betting operators should not be making it easier for games to be fixed through offering betting markets on these events.
Hofbauer said: “This type of event is very easy to manipulate because they do not depend on the entire team effort, but can be controlled by a single player.
“Svenska Spel has always been supportive of the sport on this issue. It is a matter of course for us to work together against cheating and crime. Our customers should be able to feel confident that the matches they have played on are free from manipulation.”
It has been highlighted by Hofbauer that Svenska Spel’s Sport & Casino igaming subsidiary stopped offering odds on the Swedish Division 2 Södra Svealand football league in July, amid concerns over suspicious betting activity on the competition.
He has also highlighted a specific case in the Division 2 Södra Svealand. This was after a player was suspected of having purposely got a yellow card during the match between Kalmar and Elfsborg earlier in the year. It was suspected that this was done in order for his family to win a bet.
Hofbauer added: “The message from the minister shows that our politicians and legislators are also serious about match fixing.
“If you want the Swedish gaming market to be healthy and secure, then you welcome this message.”
