Law ministers in Australia’s states and territories on Friday struck a deal that will see sporting match-fixers face up to 10 years in jail. The ministers agreed to draft new legislation to deal with the issue and ensure it is handled with consistency throughout the sprawling country.
The new laws with impose a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment for anyone found guilty of using inside information for the purposes of placing bets where they know the outcome of a sporting event has been fixed. There will be similar penalties for those who engage in match-fixing conduct or encourage others to do so. “The introduction of specific match-fixing offences will send the message to anyone seeking to corrupt sport that we are serious and we won’t tolerate that behaviour,” national Sports Minister Mark Arbib said.
