Europol and GLMS unite to tackle Sport Competition Manipulations

The Global Lottery Monitoring System (GLMS) and the European Union’s law enforcement agency, Europol, have inked in The Hague a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). According to the MoU, both the institutions will actively communicate with each other and share information about sport competition manipulations and related organised crime investigations. The institutions will also run joint activities and implement projects together to spread awareness about the malaise.

GLMS President, Ludovico Calvi, said: “We are delighted to consolidate our long-lasting and fruitful relationship with Europol and strengthen our joint efforts. Europol has played a significant role in recent years in the fight against organised crime involved in sport competitions manipulations with concrete results in relevant investigations. We have always valued their experience and innovative investigative approach. Thank to our global monitoring platform and network, we are confident that GLMS can support Europol effectively leveraging the ‘glocal’ nature of our association with global presence and local intelligence”.

Europol Deputy Executive Director of Operations, Wil van Gemert, added ”With organised crime infiltrating sport, the phenomenon of sport competition manipulations is unfortunately an active threat to EU citizens. Europol has been taking this matter very seriously and has successfully supported far-reaching investigations over the past years. We are delighted to count on the relationship with GLMS, which thanks to its strong global network and local presence will further support us in this challenging task. Most importantly, with this agreement, we send out an important message to organised criminal groups that law enforcement and private actors like the lottery sector stand united in combating organised crime and safeguarding the integrity of sports and the values of European society.”

ABOUT GLMS:
GLMS is the state lotteries’ mutualized monitoring system on sports betting. It aims at detecting and analyzing suspicious betting activities that could question the integrity of a sport competition. Building on six years of experience with the establishment in 2009 of ELMS with European Lotteries, GLMS went global in January 2015 extending the network to other continents. GLMS facilitates the sharing of sports betting information as part of the collective efforts of its members in ensuring sports integrity globally, and is dedicated to effective cooperation with all key stakeholders: regulators, law enforcement authorities, sports organizations.

ABOUT EUROPOL:
Europol is the European Union’s law enforcement agency. Headquartered in The Hague, the Netherlands, Europol supports the 28 EU Member States in their fight against terrorism, cybercrime and other serious and organised forms of crime. With over 1 100 staff members, Europol uses state-of-the art tools to support some 40 000 international investigations each year, serving as a centre for law enforcement cooperation, analytical expertise and criminal intelligence.