The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has given its green light to a new Council of Europe multilateral treaty which will result in new laws to crack down on “match-fixing”, illegal betting and other forms of corruption in sport, calling for it to enter into force swiftly.

In an opinion on the new draft Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions – which will be open to all States – the Assembly hailed the global approach and broad scope of the new treaty, but asked for certain improvements.

Approving a report by Kent Härstedt (Sweden, SOC), the parliamentarians called for the removal of a “loophole” which would allow States not to prosecute foreign people living on their territory, tighter wording on illegal betting, the drafting of “model provisions” to better harmonise laws in different countries, and sufficient resources for the effective policing of compliance with the convention.
PACE was among those pressing for a Council of Europe convention to harmonise laws in this field and its representatives joined government experts in helping to draw it up.

Under the Council of Europe Statute, the Assembly must be consulted on all new conventions drawn up by governments within the Council of Europe.

Draft Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions
Press release