The French government has classified manipulation of sports event results as crimes of the same severity as organised crime. This was enacted as part of amendments to a law aimed at combating drug trafficking and corruption activities linked to proceeds from the illegal drug trade.
An amendment introduced in January as part of an anti-drug trafficking bill reclassified match-fixing from the category of offenses to the category of serious crimes. The law was approved on 13 June. From now on, such cases will be handled by specialised inter-jurisdictional courts (JIRS), which deal with complex criminal matters, enabling deeper investigations into corruption in sports.
The law also grants investigators the power to wiretap phone calls, install hidden microphones, conduct surveillance, carry out undercover operations, and impose longer detention periods. Previously, such measures were applied only in cases involving drug trafficking, human trafficking, and large-scale fraud.
Those convicted of match-fixing in France can now face up to 10 years in prison and fines reaching €1m.
The new measures cover corrupt activities undertaken by private citizens in a context of “passive bribery committed by a participant in a sporting event or horserace where bets are taken, and active bribery committed by a private individual in the direction of such a person”.
They are supported by the regulator Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) systems that record all wagering data to detect atypical bets and unusual odds. As part of the framework, ANJ can decide to ban betting on a competition if there are major indications of manipulation.
ANJ’s anti-match fixing monitoring and training teams meet every six weeks and its teams also train young athletes, magistrates and civil servants to assist them in identifying and detecting cases of sporting fraud linked to betting.
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