Wimbledon Gambling Scandal: Eight Matches Fixed, Dossier Claims

Last year the New York Times reported on a widening gambling scandal in professional tennis that implicated highly-ranked players. Now, allegations have arisen that eight Wimbledon matches (the tournament begins Monday) were fixed by professional gambling syndicates:

Eight matches at Wimbledon have been reported to the tennis authorities on suspicion results have been fixed by professional gambling syndicates.

The matches have been named in a dossier compiled by leading bookmaking companies responsible for monitoring suspect betting patterns and players thought to be willing to throw game...

...Many suspect matches show huge rises in the money pledged, compared with similar games...

...An official with detailed knowledge of the dossier of 140 "suspect" matches from tournaments around the world told the Sunday Times: "If you look at a tournament, you might see one match for £23,000 [in betting turnover], one for £27,000, one for £36,000 and one for £4.5m.

"It doesn't take a genius to work out that something is going on in the last one."

Comments

[OneTop]

The Eternal ......

Don't bet on anything that can talk ..

[c3m]

I really don't give a sh*t.

I always assumed all sports are fixed because
of the amount of money involved in betting.

That is why I NEVER attend or watch.

Screw the sponsors, promoters, players,
coaches, umpires and all scumbags making their living of sports!

They aren't getting my emotion or money!

[senorplaid]

And yet you had to weigh in here, in a sports story, to let everyone know you don't give a sh*t about sports. Imagine that!

[sandgk]

Cheating at Wimbledon? That's just not cricket.

[AfzaalKhan]

exactly cricket rocks everything else sucks lol

[HatingTheGame]

Dude, while Cricket does rock, its full of stories of fixing and corruption. You must know this if you follow the sport over the last 20 or so years.

From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Match_fixing

Cricket has been scandalized by several gambling and match fixing allegations in recent years, culminating in the World Cup investigations of 2007. These highly publicised enquiries were prompted by the surprise defeat of Pakistan in the Cup by Ireland and the subsequent murder investigation into the suspicious death, straight after the match, of Pakistan's head coach Bob Woolmer.

In 2000 the Delhi police intercepted a conversation between a blacklisted bookie and the South African cricket captain Hansie Cronje in which they learnt that Cronje accepted money to throw matches. The South African government refused to allow any of its players to face the Indian investigation unit, which opened up a can of worms. A court of inquiry was set up and Cronje admitted to throwing matches. He was immediately banned from all cricket. He also named Salim Malik (Pakistan), Mohammed Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja (India). Jadeja was banned for 4 years. They too were banned from all cricket. As a kingpin, Cronje exposed the dark side of betting, however with his untimely death in 2002 most of his sources also have escaped law enforcement agencies. Two South African cricketers, Herschelle Gibbs and Nicky Boje, are also wanted by the Delhi police for their role in the match fixing saga.

[Dingoangst]

I don't get it. What does this have to do with Amy Winehouse?

[GrouchoMarxist]

Say it ain't so, Bjorn. Say it ain't so.

[dmack]

I could care less about a Wimbleton scandal. I think we have bigger fish to fry in this country. I'm sure some Democrat in Congress will feel it his patriotic duty to have a full blown investigation over this trivial issue. It doesn't effect anyone but some millionaire players. Fans may be disappointed, but their lives will not change. The same holds true for baseball. Ironically, the issues that need investigating gets swept under the rug. Issues like this will be the lead story, while issues like a faulty 9/11 commission report goes unscrutinezed. Issues like this will be the talking points for months to come, while the people of this country continue to struggle. Why is this major news?

[GrouchoMarxist]

Um...Wimbledon is held in England, so our government would really have any reason to hold hearings about it.

[dmack]

Where do think the gambling more than likely took place?

[PAposter]

Tennis is an international sport, and "Wimbledon" is held at the All England Club. Why would you assume this has anything to do with American players, thereby sparking the interest of our government. The only player I recall being named last year was Nicolai Davydenko, who is from Russia.

[dmack]

I used American players as an example because so many of them are caught up in circumstances just like this. Everything from steroids to "refs on the take." My point is simply, this should not overshadow more important issues. Let ESPN's Sports Center cover it.

[Counterglow]

Why do you not understand that there are other countries than the United States, and that things happen there? Can you find England on a map?

[dmack]

Where do you think the gambling more than likely took place?

[sussex]

You have obviously never seen a world map so a link to one is included for your convenience. Please note that Wimbledon is located on that island on the upper center part of the map. Please don't be fooled by the fact that that island is only a couple of inches away from the US. The map is actually drawn to what we call "scale" and they are thousands of miles apart.

http://www.mapsofindia.com/worldmap/world-map.gif

[dmack]

Where do you think the gambling more than likely took place?

[LORISNJ]

If your employer cheats, your accountant cheats, your banker cheats, your utility companies cheat, your car company cheats, your grocer cheats, and your President cheats....why in the hell would you think that your sports figures aren't cheating too?

WE ARE A STINKING COUNTRY OF CHEATERS...EVEN OUR F-ING CHURCHES CHEAT....THE ONLY PEOPLE YOU CAN COUNT ON NOT CHEATING ARE ON LIFE SUPPORT.

Sorry, I am still coming down from the Sunday morning talk show lie fest, $#%^&P)(*_)*(^E$$%#@$!!!

[adzeman]

Might be the easiest to fix. The only stumbling block is most of the players that people would bet on are filthy rich. I wouldn't jeopardize my name for money if I was a top ranked player.

[Ramus]

I don't think the top ranked players would do this. They are a pretty bright group..why would they want to jeopardize their ten to a hundred million a year? It is surely the poor (in both sense of the word)players who might be tempted to throw a game.

[CFAmick]

It's probably lower leverl players who can be coerced and threatened more easily.

[keclxivq]

Maybe they don't get to decide if they want to throw a match? I've heard that if you look at the larger picture you can see all sorts of fingers in the pot.

[Tremonius]

I used to argue with mates in grade school about the relative merits of wrestling and boxing. I held out for the morality of the latter, because, while rasslin' was choreographed, only the ending was fixed in boxing.

Necessity requires virtue in modest doses.

It was reported in a long article in New Yorker sometime in the 70s that the top two players, McEnroe and Borg, before beginning a best-of-three set exhibition match, were heard to agree they would split the first two sets and then play an honest third. To save energy, I suppose. It mostly escaped notice.

[AnnArky]

News Flash, people. It's all been fixed . . . everything, everybody and everywhere. If you're truly shocked you've been lying to yourself your whole life.

[Irons]

Cheating in tennis? Somebody send for the fainting couch.

[KarateKid]

The NBA is more corrupt than tennis. Look how Boston "won" the championship a year after they won only 24 games. How in the world did they have the trading chips to land KG and Ray Allen in one off season? Why, none other than another former Celtic, Kevin McHale, dealing with his former teammate Danny Ainge, that's how. And how did LA get Pau Gasol for so cheap? Stern wanted a Boston/LA Laker series, and he got it. I thanked him by not watching ANY of it.

Tim Donaghy is not the only corrupt referee. The Sacramento Kings got screwed against the Lakers, almost everyone polled feels that way. David Stern is trying his best to brush off the criticism, but he can't fool people anymore. Not every game is fixed, but the key ones are.

As for Tennis, let's have names. I'd bet the majority of them are from behind the former Iron Curtain.

[Vergadoce]

I'm all for cheating. Win if you can, lose if you must, but ALWAYS cheat. That's what I teach my children

[KarateKid]

You'd better watch it. They'll grow up to be Republicans.

[bartonfink]

excuse me, mr. rove, your close up is ready

[DietrichMoody]

Tennis is a major sport. This is a big deal. Tennis gets the big money and sponsors. Where else do male and female players earn the same amount of money for a Major win - as in the Grand Slams. There should be more oversight by the WTA and ATP but there hasn't. I bet there is more oversight within the American Bowling League.

[kingcityguru]

The easiest sport to fix is tennis as you only need to influence one man. The sport MOST subject to fixing is professional and college basketball because if you influence one referee you can actually award points to a team or limit another through fouls and thereby win against the line without anyone knowing. If you bet basketball, bet the referee.