Match fixing has surpassed doping as the greatest threat to the Olympic Games, according to Britain's Olympics Minister.
In an interview with The (London) Sunday Times, Hugh Robertson said much was being done to crack down on all forms of match fixing ahead of the London Olympics, beginning July 27.
Of fixing being a greater concern than athletes taking drugs, he said, "You cannot underestimate the threat this poses because the moment that spectators start to feel that what they are seeing in front of them is not a true contest, that is when spectators stop turning up and the whole thing falls to pieces."
Robertson's comments follow evidence of betting syndicates tampering with football, tennis and handball -- not just fixing results, but smaller events within games on which popular "exotic" bets can be placed.
An example is a recent incident involving the Pakistan cricket team, in which team members were paid to break rules at specific points of games, not affecting the result directly, but allowing gamblers to win big by betting on the players' indiscretions.
While many large betting syndicates responsible for such corruption are based in Asia, betting house Betfair says £300 million ($465 million) will be wagered on the Games from within Britain.
"At some stage over the next two or three years, we will have some other sort of betting scandal in some sport. I just hope it is not at the Olympics," Robertson said.
When the games open in London, an intelligence team will concentrate on gamblers' betting patterns in hopes of noticing irregularities that might lead them to corruption.
London's Metropolitan Police will also work with Interpol to trace suspicious betting activity overseas, while the International Olympic Committee will concentrate on large wagers placed on Olympic events.
