Exclusive – Why betting and tennis need to be linked even if there are huge risks

Kevin Palmer
Wilson US Open tennis ball
Tennis in focus

The relationship between tennis and betting companies is a big challenge for the sport, with International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) CEO Karen Moorhouse giving Tennis365 an exclusive insight into how her organisation approach the complex issue.

With just one player on either side of the net, tennis is more open than most sports to manipulation of results for betting purposes and for players struggling to fund their careers in the lower ends of the professional game, the temptation to affect the outcome of a match for corrupt reasons is even more pressing.

Players performing at the top of the ATP Tour earn more than enough money to ensure they will not be tempted to accept money to lose a match, but the number of players suspended by the ITIA each year for match-fixing highlights the problem at the other end of the rankings.

Here, in an exclusive interview with Tennis365, Moorhouse has revealed how her organisation is tackling the issue of match-fixing, with betting on lower-level matches an ongoing talking point.

“Tennis is good at recognising that it has a vulnerability to corruption,” Moorhouse told Tennis365. “It is part of our role to work with the ITF and promote education to ensure that players performing on a professional stage understand that there may be people looking to approach them and seek to influence them and encourage them to make bad decisions.

“It’s our job to work really closely with the betting industry to ensure that we are getting the right information when issues do arise. We want to find out about a problem as soon as possible and look to remove those people from the game.”

Betting on lower-ranked ITF World Tennis Tour events and even tournaments at a lower level of the sport appears to be a dangerous policy, but the ITIA suggest the revenue generated from the live streams and the data of matches being played at those events helps to ensure the tournaments are financially viable.

“The reality of life is the sale of data is such a valuable revenue stream for all sports and that is the case in tennis,” continued Moorhouse. “The sale of that data supports the game and without it or the sale of betting sponsorship of tournaments, they wouldn’t happen.

“So you have to balance off the risk that comes with selling that data against opening up playing opportunities for players and enabling prize money for those events being paid. You need to try and get that balance right.

“The sale of tennis data sits with the governing bodies of tennis and our members they were not selling it, do you then leave it open for others to step in that breach and therefore you still end up with the matches being on the betting market without the sport benefitting from those revenues?

“So to summarise, it is not straightforward. There are clear risks of there being a betting market at that level, but they have set us up to ensure we have the best opportunities possible to eradicate corruption.”

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High-level ATP Tour events like the Miami Open have betting partners that have an advertising presence on the signage around the court, but Moorhouse insists that association with the sport can never be with those playing in matches.

“We don’t allow players to have associations with betting companies because they are the individuals who can influence the outcome of the match,” she added.

“A tournament having a betting sponsor is different as they are not participating in the match and they can’t influence the outcomes.

“Tournaments will say betting companies are sponsors who can bring in the money that generates the revenue to pay players prize money, so it is all about getting the balance and recognising the importance of bringing in revenue and not impacting the players negatively.”

The debate around betting in tennis and what level it should be permitted will continue, with these comments highlighting a reality that the sport needs partners to ensure it can thrive even if some of them come with inherent risks.

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