French Open Officials Taking Security Measures
By Audrey Nolan - French Open organizers are taking to courts the online betting companies in order to ban them from offering bets on the Grand Slam tournament. The complaint was filed on the courts of Belgium and Paris and states it jeopardizes the reputation of Roland Garros. “There is urgency to act because sporting ethic is at risk,” Jean-Francois Vilotte, director general of the French tennis federation, told the Associated Press. “It is an issue as important as the fight against doping.” The French federation is suing three companies Betfair, Bwin and Ladbrokes with a court injunction to stop them from taking bets on the French Open. It seeks a fine of $75,000 a day for any violations, said Vilotte’s lawyer, Jean-Louis Dupont. The problem started in August, when Betfair voided all wagers on a match in Poland between Nikolay Davydenko and Martin Vasallo Arguello because of irregular betting patterns. Davydenko stepped out from the match supposedly because of a foot injury. The case was built on two things: first the betting companies are tainting the reputation of the French Open and second the unfair use of the tournament as a way of making money.
“Targeting the only betting operator which is completely transparent and, where needed, shares all its betting information with the ITF and ATP would be just plain bizarre,” Betfair managing director Mark Davies wrote in an e-mail. “I would be astonished if any sensible regulator wanted to go down this route or believed it could help protect the integrity of its sport when it so obviously does the opposite.” With soccer and horse racing, tennis is among the most popular sports to bet in Europe. Vilotte monitored the ATP Masters Series tournament in Paris, which the French federation also organizes, he stated that the bets over the week long totaled between $750 million and $1.5 billion. “You can imagine that for Roland Garros, the totals would be much higher,” he said. “They purely scrap the bets on the event in question and by doing that generate a scandal that the organization and players have to deal with. It can give them a lifelong ugly reputation,'’ Dupont said.
About the author Audrey Nolan is a high-ranking writer on sports for the online betting industry. You can also find more of her work at http://www.instantactionsports.com/uk. Feel free to reprint this article in its whole on your site, make sure to leave all links in place and do not modify any of the content.
Technorati Tags: French Open, Grand Slam, Paris, Roland Garros, Nikolay Davydenko, Martin Vasallo Arguello, ITF, ATP, Mark Davies
