Match-fixing legislation likely to become law

Match-fixing legislation is on its way to becoming law in Australia after state sports ministers agreed at a meeting in Brisbane to adopt the measures proposed by sporting bodies.

The proposal, which may include penalties of up to 10 years' jail for those found to be involved in match-fixing, was pushed along by cricket administrators, via the Coalition of Major Participation and Professional Sports (COMPPS), following the game's long and pained history of shady dealings between players and illegal bookmakers.

The ICC has been watching developments closely; the Australian federal sports minister Mark Arbib met with the ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat in January to discuss the matter of government support in the fight to preserve the integrity of the game.

"We do monitor these developments and I had met at the beginning of this year with the Australian Minister of Sport to discuss the issues," Lorgat told ESPNcricinfo. "If requested by governments or our member boards, we can provide the benefit of our experience in this area.

"We have always stated that the fight against corruption is the responsibility of everyone concerned and this includes the ICC, member boards, players, governments and police. Indeed, as we have seen recently, corruption in sport is not limited to cricket and, as a world leader in this field, we are willing to share our experience and assist other sports to tackle the issue."

Lorgat said any legislative support that could be put in place to help pursue those who would fix matches, was very welcome.

"A regulatory framework with appropriate laws to deal specifically with sports corruption is better than no legislation and is something that we would support," he said. "As a sporting body, our code - and our mandate - covers only players, officials and other support personnel. We are not a law-enforcement agency, so if there are ways in which nations' legislative framework can help us to maintain cricket's integrity then naturally we would encourage and support that."

James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive and the chairman of COMPPS, described the decision as historic.

"Australia loves its sport and fans deserve the confidence of knowing there are robust governmental protections in place nationally to protect sport from corrupt influence and match fixing," Sutherland said. "We have been seeking these protections for many years and congratulate Federal Minister Arbib and his state and territory counterparts on today's historic decision to seek uniform national laws.

"The foundation and strength of this policy is the unified approach used to create it, within the sports industry and the government. COMPPS is built on the mutual understanding and shared goals of Australia's sports bodies and today we have seen the power of this collective approach to the welfare of Australian sport."