The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced a number of measures to help protect the integrity of events at the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
The OM Unit PMC will work alongside partners such as Sportradar, the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA), Global Lottery Monitoring System GLMS), Council of Europe’s network of national platforms, betting regulatory authorities and private sports betting companies, with monitoring carried out remotely at Olympic House in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Over the past few months, National Olympic Committees (NOCs) have conducted online seminars or organized physical sessions to inform team members about what competition manipulation entails and how it can be prevented.
A number of athlete ambassadors, selected in close collaboration with the International Sports Federations (IFs) and the NOCs, have been supporting these activities, with peer-to-peer communication having proved highly successful in the past.
The IOC will retain a direct link with these federations during the games and flag any breach of the Olympic Movement Code on the Prevention of the Manipulation of Competitions. The IOC may also carry out a preliminary investigation and help set up a disciplinary commission if required.
Other activities will include a series of awareness-raising initiatives focused on the IOC’s wider ‘Make The Right Decision’ campaign, providing educational material such as a self-explanatory code of conduct, elearning course and educational toolbox for athletes.
“The code of conduct is at the heart of the campaign and sums up the rules that all athletes, coaches and officials need to be aware of. In Beijing, any accredited person must not bet on any Olympic events, or share inside information or, of course, manipulate a competition,” the IOC said.
“In addition, it is obligatory to report any information on a potential breach of integrity via the IOC integrity hotline,” it added.
The 2022 Winter Olympic Games will take place from 4-20 February.
Source: GMB
