Rogge: Sports Bodies Should Receive Betting Income Return
March 1, 2011
Jacques Rogge, prostate president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), has called for sporting bodies to receive a cut of betting revenues, insisting that governments should impose tighter controls on gambling in sport.
Rogge stated: “We are in favour of a system where betting operators have to be licensed by the government. Sports organisers, national federations and international federations would have a fair return for all their efforts for organising the sport. They should be recognised with a return from financial income.”
Rogge continued to urged governments to monitor betting companies to “control if there is any money laundering”, adding: “I think you have to assume like in doping, all sports are affected and none is totally free, but those sports with the biggest audiences will be affected (by illegal and irregular betting). That goes without saying.”
Government ministers from Australia, France, Switzerland and the UK are attending the meeting.
After coming under pressure from the European Commission, in late 2009 France, which had long protected its state monopoly on gambling through Francaise des Jeux and Pari Mutuel Urbain, finally introduced its own licensing system for betting on sport, with bookmakers forced to pay a portion of their revenues to sport.