World Athletic Championships Betting Patterns Monitored

By Simon Wright, Last updated Jan 27, 2021

The World Athletic Championships which started on Friday in Doha, Qatar, are being monitored for suspicious betting patterns, with the AIU ( Athletics Integrity Unit ) mounting an operation to monitor bets placed on the events being held, during the nine day championships.

The operation will be run by the AIU in conjunction with three other bodies, the International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Movement Unit on the Prevention of the Manipulation of Competitions, the Council of Europe’s Copenhagen Group and Sportradar. With the aim to ensure to the best of their ability that results of events are not swayed or manipulated by the amount of money wagered on them.

The process and procedures put in place mirror those that were undertaken two years ago, during the Championships which were held in London, England. Commenting on behalf of  the AIU, their chairman, David Howman, said: “It is the AIU’s responsibility to proactively combat all forms of corruption and ethical misconduct in athletics, and that includes illegitimate betting practices and competition manipulation related to such activities.”

“The risk in athletics is currently low relative to some other sports, but with growth in key betting markets our activities are designed to get ahead of the curve and discourage unethical behaviour in our sport before it takes place.”

“The IAAF World Athletics Championships is one of the greatest sports events in the world and it is the Athletics Integrity Unit ‘s responsibility to ensure fair play. Transferring samples of athletes from the host nation to another World Anti-Doping Agency-accredited laboratory is a proactive measure to avoid any perception of conflict.”

“Public confidence in the integrity of a sporting event is paramount and we do not want to leave any stone unturned to ensure this is achieved for the biggest athletics event.”

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