The Council of Europe held the 10th meeting of the Group of Copenhagen on 5 and 6 May 2026. Co-organised with the Committee of Ethics and Sport Safeguarding of Cyprus, the meeting brought together around 100 participants, both in person and online, from 36 countries.

The meeting provided an opportunity to take stock of recent developments in the fight against the manipulation of sports competitions and to strengthen cooperation between national platforms, public authorities, sports organisations, regulators and other key stakeholders.

A key milestone of the meeting was the controversy session on so called “predictive markets”. The session opened a timely discussion on the development of such new markets, their operators and their light regulatory framework, and examined whether they may represent a new threat to the integrity of sports competitions. Participants exchanged views on the possible risks posed by these emerging markets, particularly in relation to betting-like activities, information flows and the monitoring of competitions.

The Group also addressed several other priorities, including alerts, the monitoring of international sports competitions, artificial intelligence, advertising and sponsorship, esports, and the strengthening of national platforms. On the issue of addiction, participants decided to establish a dedicated working group on football players’ addiction to sports betting, with a view to further examining this growing concern and identifying possible areas for action.

Particular attention was also given to the need for practical cooperation, timely information sharing and coordinated action in line with the objectives of the Macolin Convention.

By gathering a wide range of expertise from across Europe and beyond, the 10th meeting of the Group of Copenhagen contributed to reinforcing the Macolin community and identifying common priorities to better protect the integrity of sport in the coming months.

Learn more about our work:

• Network of national platforms (Group of Copenhagen)
• What is the Macolin Convention?
• The ACT project