New betting integrity education films for players

The Professional Players Federation (PPF) has released three short education films aimed at professional sportspeople, including cricketers, to highlight the consequences of breaching betting integrity rules. 

The films are introduced by former footballer Jason Lee and also feature Betway’s Head of Communications, Alan Alger and Sports Betting Integrity Adviser, Nigel Mawer QPM.

The release follows the publication of the Gambling Commission’s most recent Annual Review indicating that its Sports Betting Intelligence Unit received over 700 specific reports which included issues such as suspicious betting activity, sports rules breaches, misuse of inside information, Gambling Act offences or other criminality.

The new films highlight the serious consequences of players betting on their own sport and outline the ramifications for anyone who is drawn into match fixing or spot fixing.  They remind players of their requirement to report any suspicious approaches or risk being banned.

The PCA and the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) regularly remind players of their anti-corruption responsibilities. The PCA’s anti-corruption tutorial is regularly updated and is mandatory for any player registered to one of the First-Class counties or the regional centres.

PCA Director of Member Services Ian Thomas said: “It’s vital that professional cricket maintains the highest standards of integrity so that the fans can trust in what they see.  The messages in these films are extremely important for players. We all have a duty to protect our sport and players must report any concerns to the authorities and the PCA.  The consequences of match fixing are extremely serious and we’re pleased to support this important education from our partners at the PPF.”

PPF Chairman Brendon Batson OBE said: “Following the Covid pandemic, it is an important time to reiterate the key betting integrity messages to players in order to ensure the very highest standard of sports integrity is maintained.  We are grateful to our betting integrity partners for their support and we are looking forward to integrating the films within education programmes for players from across professional sport.”

Betway CEO, Anthony Werkman said: “We hope these films prove to be effective tools in the fight to maintain integrity in the sports and events we all love to be a part of. As fans of global sport, first and foremost, we want to ensure what we are seeing is a true event played out on the merits of the respective competitors. Furthermore, it enhances the ability for betting companies, like Betway, to offer markets in a fair, safe, secure and responsible environment.”

The films are available to view on the PPF website.

For further information please contact PPF Chief Executive Simon Taylor at simont@ppf.org.uk or 07726 627 422.

The PPF was established in 1991 to represent the collective interests of the professional player associations in the United Kingdom. Its twelve member associations represent more than 17,500 athletes making the PPF the largest national federation of player associations in the world.

Find out more about the PCA’s anti-corruption policy.