A new EU match-fixing treaty to be finalized by 15 European nations will address an important sports issue which includes continued to plague league after league throughout the world. Match-fixing is a scourge that hurts fans, sports competitions, and honest gamblers and bookmakers alike.

That is why combating match-fixers is becoming this type of button that is hot in the wide world of sports in modern times, with governments and bookmakers teaming up with organizations like FIFA and the International Olympic Committee in an effort to stamp it out.

Now, these 15 nations in Europe have agreed to work together in order to prevent and discipline match-fixing around the globe. Final at the Conference of European Ministers of Sport in Switzerland, the nations signed the Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions, pledging to help promote integrity in sports in their nations thursday.

EU Nations Sign Convention

The signatories include several major European nations. The nations included in the convention were Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Lithuania, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, the Russian Federation, Serbia and Switzerland.

These countries have agreed to increase the flow of information and improve cooperation between national and international bodies, including sports books, leagues and competitions, and governments by signing the convention. Sports betting regulators and operators is going to be anticipated to just take more steps to combat fraud, while governments are asked to use legislation along with other measures to protect the integrity of matches.

‘This convention is a step that is major for integrity, ethics and transparency in sport,’ stated Thorborn Jagland, the Council of Europe’s Secretary General.

The European Commission called the treaty a ‘new milestone’ in the battle against match-fixing. The body played a role that is critical assisting to bring together the convention over the last two years.

‘Match-fixing is a cross-border issue and action at European level is essential whenever we are to combat this scourge,’ said Androulla Vassiliou, the European Commissioner for sport.

Sports Betting Groups Approve Treaty, With Reservations

Reaction from sports betting businesses was also largely good. Groups including the Gaming that is european&amp Association (EGBA) and the Remote Gambling Association (RGA) came out in support for the convention, even if they may have had some reservations.

‘It is our hope that [the meeting] will further set the tone for the more effective cooperation between all stakeholders to eradicate match fixing,’ said EGBA secretary general Maarten Haijer. ‘However, we are award that the CJEU [the Court of Justice of europe) has rightly been asked to provide its opinion on the compatibility for the concept of ‘illegal recreations betting’ with EU law, and consider that the application of at the very least this provision must be postponed before the CJEU has provided legal clarity.’

RGA chief executive Clive Hawkswood said that bookmakers worked difficult to ensure no bet that is particular had been banned in the meeting.

‘The regulated betting sector worked hard to explain why measures of the type would not make any material difference to the integrity of sport,’ Hawkswood said. ‘What we have finally is a relatively balanced and workable framework, which rightly seeks to mirror the selection of existing national regulatory frameworks rather than replace them.’

The convention was set to enter into impact 90 days after it received at the least five signatories, at least three of which were EU Member States. Since that limit had been reached on Thursday, the meeting will start January 1, 2015. Other nations can nevertheless be a component associated with the meeting; since the treaty was created to fight against corruption worldwide, nations don’t need to be in European countries to sign up.