Infographic Reveals Extent of Match-Fixing in European Football

LONDON, January 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

Illegal betting is a £306 billion industry that has seen over 380 European football matches fixed, a new infographic by SportsBettingOnline.net reveals.

The SportsBettingOnline.net infographic explains the formation of illegal betting syndicates and the widespread impact they have across the continent.

The Union of Professional Football Players FIFPro reported that 12% of their 3,400 playing members have been approached to alter a game's outcome. 24% are aware of match-fixing in their league, with the figure growing to 44% when inclusive of Russia.

Eric Roberts, head of the SportsBettingOnline research team, commented: "Match-fixing is not confined to Eastern and Southern Europe. We're seeing players and officials implicated in England, Germany and across Scandinavia.

It's worrying because illegal betting can be difficult to track. Say a player agrees to receive a red card as part of a fix - it's unlikely you'd see a flurry of bets on that outcome because it would arouse suspicion. Instead, you'd see bets on the outcomes it influences, such as a team to lose."

Football's flirtation with the devil has seen six players arrested in England in the past two months. The most high-profile player to be implicated is Italian World Cup winning midfielder Gennaro Gattuso, who is being investigated for match-fixing as of December 17^th 2013.

The infographic underlines the extent of match-fixing in Europe's biggest footballing nations. Despite boasting a strong commercial infrastructure, German football has been tarnished by criminals wagering £13.8 million on rigged matches and making £6.9 million in profits. £1.73 million in payments is thought to have been made to corrupt players and officials.

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