ACT II - Adressing Competitions' Manipulation Together
ACT II helps safeguard the credibility of sport against manipulation. The project supports countries to prevent, detect and sanction the manipulation of sports competitions by mobilising all key stakeholders and strengthening the rules of the game.
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Shaping attitudes: raise awareness, promote ethical codes, and underline that manipulation is a criminal offence and punishable by law.
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Bringing everyone to the table: set up or strengthen national platforms bringing together the sports movement, betting operators, public authorities, law enforcement and the judiciary to coordinate legislation, action and campaigns.
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Strengthening the legal framework: align national legislation with European standards; define offences clearly; ensure competent authorities have the right powers; and establish sanctions and reporting mechanisms, including protection for whistleblowers.
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Enabling effective action: train law enforcement, prosecutors and judges to investigate effectively and prosecute all forms of manipulation, and deliver technical assistance missions to strengthen national capacities.
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Boosting European cooperation: share good practice and work with European partners and the Council of Europe to dismantle networks and break the cycle of manipulation.
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Improving information sharing: roll out a new alert/notification sharing system and carry out an in-depth mapping of national platforms to track progress and target support effectively.
The ACT II project builds on the achievements of the original ACT initiative and aims to strengthen national and international responses to the manipulation of sports competitions. ACT II will support and benefit:
• National platforms, public authorities and regulators — including authorities responsible for sport, betting and lotteries, law enforcement, judicial bodies and national Macolin Convention platforms — by enhancing information exchange, cooperation frameworks, training and capacity‑building to prevent, detect and respond to manipulation.
• Sports organisations and competition stakeholders — such as competition organisers, athletes, coaches, referees and officials — through increased awareness‑raising, guidance materials and stronger collaboration structures that safeguard sporting integrity and ensure fair competition.
• Betting operators and integrity networks — who will benefit from better frameworks for cooperation, risk monitoring and coordinated action against illegal betting and related manipulations.
• The end beneficiaries are people involved in sports competitions in all capacities (athletes, coaches, trainers, referees, competition organisers, voluntary or paid officials).
Between 2022 and 2025, ACT I primarily strengthened the operational response to competition manipulation and supported the implementation of the Macolin Convention. It delivered international conferences (on manipulation in the digital era, the role of prosecutors, and illegal betting and manipulation — including events in Rabat, Buenos Aires and Canada) as well as several webinars on key topics.
The project also produced two mappings of national platforms (through questionnaires/studies), carried out technical assistance missions (Morocco, Iceland and Portugal), and built capacities through a UEFA–TCMS training course on “intelligence & investigation”.
Finally, ACT I deepened work on the link between manipulation and betting (a study followed by a guide finalised in May 2025) and laid the groundwork for a new alert-sharing system through a feasibility study.
Duration: 1 January 2026 - 31 December 2027 (24 Months)
Budget : €150,000 (voluntary contributions)
Donors: Ministry of Culture and Equality (Norway), European Lotteries, World Lottery Association, Ligue Professionelle de Football, Française des jeux.
Implemented by: the Council of Europe Secretariat: Sport Division – Macolin Secretariat.
Secretariat of the Macolin Convention
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