Football Betting From Within the Game
As the Dutch Television Channel NOS reported; The Dutch football union: 11 per cent of professional players bet on their league’s matches. About half of the professional football players say they occasionally bet on football matches, according to a survey by the Association of Contract Players (VVCS), the union of football players. 11 per cent of that group occasionally bet on matches from their own league, something that is prohibited by the rules of football association KNVB. 217 pros completed the questionnaire.
Of the players who bet on matches in their own league, 13 per cent do so through someone else’s account. But the vast majority of players do so simply under their own name, in other words. VVCS president Yevgeny Levchenko earlier indicated that by no means all pros are aware of the rules regarding gambling.
So far, it is a rarity that players are penalised for gambling on matches in their own league. Tom Beugelsdijk is one of the few players to be suspended for gambling on home league matches. He ran into trouble after an investigation was launched into him for match-fixing. While influencing his own matches could not be proven, betting on matches in the Eredivisie could.
Online gambling linked to Dutch football
Every Eredivisie club has at least one online gambling company as a sponsor. Besides Unibet, these include Toto, Betcity, GGPoker, Betsson, Bet365 and Kansino. First division club ADO Den Haag’s stadium is named after Bingoal.
In October last year, online gambling was legalised. Gambling on match results is one of the online games of chance. In view of matchfixing, ‘live betting’ has been banned. This is gambling on events during a match, such as ‘betting’ on the first throw-in or the number of red cards.
In June, it was announced that online gambling companies would no longer be allowed to use dutch celebrities for their advertising. Law Minister Franc Weerwind is working on a blanket ban on advertisements. He also wants a ban on sports sponsorship by online gambling companies.
Football players were also asked if they are bothered by the many gambling advertisements in football. This does not appear to be the case. In addition, they indicated that they come into contact with gambling mainly through family and friends. There are concerns about gambling companies in football among the cabinet and in the Lower House.
Helpline
The VVCS now has a helpline for footballers with questions about sports betting or gambling addiction. The union also wants to help footballers with a gambling problem. What is salient is the fact that the VVCS is getting financial support from gambling companies Holland Casino and Unibet.
The footballers’ union says that by far the majority of cases involve relatively small amounts being gambled with. The average bet is below €100 per month, the survey shows. Footballers would also bet ‘sporadically’, but the press release from the players’ union does not say how many bets per year are involved.
The KNVB has not yet responded to the VVCS findings
Fair Sport 4 All
EFDN recently launched their own workshops to fight against match-fixing. Through the Fair Sport 4 All programme that aims to raise awareness of the threats of match-fixing, by educating clubs’, players and all stakeholders involved in the game. The main objective of the programme is to ensure that the integrity and values of true sportsmanship are represented, respected, and encouraged by all individuals involved in European football.
On the 27th of September, the first Fair Sport 4 All Workshop was held at the Cambuurstadion, the stadium of the Eredivisie club and recently added EFDN member SC Cambuur. The workshop consisted of a mix of learning tools to teach the SC Cambuur team about the dangers of match-fixing and what to do when they are involved in any way in a match-fixing situation. If you would like to learn more about the workshop click HERE.
If an organization or club would like to participate in their own Fair Sport 4 All workshop contact THIS email for more information.
