Can the Macolin Convention Save the World of Sports?
A European initiative to bring together prosecutors, police, sports clubs, and the gambling industry to fight corruption in sport is slowly picking up speed. World of Crime investigates.
Some Names to Remember:
- The Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions, better known as the Macolin Convention, a multilateral treaty that entered into force in 2019.
- The MARS Network, a network of magistrates and prosecutors working on sports corruption which collaborates and shares information on relevant cases.
A word to the wise, this story gets technical but is very much worth your time, if you are interested in how sports corruption gets prosecuted.
Some good yet obscure news came out of Belgium and Lithuania in July. The two countries had ratified the Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions, also known as the Macolin Convention for the town in Switzerland where it was signed in 2014.
The news was not exactly met with widespread coverage. It hardly met with any attention in the Belgian and Lithuanian press, despite both countries having been exposed to severe match-fixing scandals in the past.
However, among the right circles, this was a significant step forward. Belgium had signed the Convention in 2016, but it took eight years to finally ratify it. “It happened very fast in the end. There were combined fforts from the Flemish, French and German-speaking authorities in Belgium to get this done,” said Guy Reinenbergh, Belgium’s national coordinator for sports fraud.
*This article is part of World of Crime’s ongoing series on Football and Crime, investigating how organized crime is increasingly dominating the world of professional sports.
He added that France’s ratification of the Macolin Convention in June 2023 also helped accelerate matters. Eleven countries have now ratified the convention.
Sounds good, but what does the Macolin Convention do exactly?
Fair question. The Convention is, to date, the only international legal standard to regulate the fight against sport manipulation and match-fixing. Since becoming effective in 2019, it has provided a robust framework for countries to coordinate efforts against this type of corruption.
Its main tool lies in creating National Platforms, which facilitate the sharing of crucial information related to match-fixing, corruption, and sports manipulation. These serve as a meeting place for private and public sector efforts since all stakeholders from governmental bodies and sports federations to betting operators have access to the platforms. These platforms are such an effective tool that some countries do not wait for Macolin to be ratified to set them up. Belgium has had one in place since 2017, two years before Macolin even came into force.
Why do these platforms matter? Before their creation, there was no central database to gather information about match-fixing networks, corruption in sports, and ongoing investigations and prosecutions. These platforms are filling a much-needed void, with corruption in sport estimated to be worth an astounding $1.7 trillion a year.
The Macolin Convention is widely admired outside Europe as well. While the original signatories were all within the Council of Europe, Australia has since signed it and pledged to ratify it. Brazilian football authorities, themselves riven by accusations of corruption and match-fixing, have called on their government to also join.
This sounds great. Why aren’t all countries rushing to ratify it?
Well, first of all, sports manipulation and match-fixing place fairly far down the ranking of law enforcement priorities for most governments.
“International cooperation has shown its ability to fight organized crime, such as drug trafficking and human trafficking. We must now do the same for sport manipulation and corruption,” said Ann Lukowiak, a Belgian federal magistrate and vice-president of the MARS Network.
But this is no easy feat. “Prioritising sport manipulation is a tough sell. We must convince political actors to have the capabilities needed to go after these issues,” explained Lukowiak
“I feel like I’m running a marathon without any training,” she added, but also praising the fact that there is growing awareness of the issue in Belgium and Europe.
Enter the MARS Network. A coalition of magistrates specialized in sports-related crimes, the MARS Network has been on the frontlines, raising awareness about dangers facing the sports world.
"The MARS network…is growing in more than thirty participating countries. This network now goes beyond the Macolin Convention, as it deals with themes such as doping, violence and hate in sport, and money laundering,” Jean-Yves Lourgouilloux, a French public prosecutor and chair of the MARS Network, told World of Crime.
While the Macolin Convention lays down a theoretical model to deal with sports and crime, the MARS Network creates a level playing field.
“All the countries did not have the same level of knowledge or legislation. We share best practices, build joint cases, and train judges and prosecutors about sports issues,” continued Lourgouilloux.
This collaboration will hopefully lead to replication, with judicial officials from as far afield as Brazil and Sri Lanka joining the MARS Network’s last annual reunion.
It sounds like some roadblocks remain, however.
Enter the Malta Deadlock.
Malta's resistance to ratifying the Macolin Convention stems from its deep-rooted economic interests in the gambling and betting industry. The country's economy significantly benefits from this sector, which has established Malta as a major hub for online gaming. This industry is so crucial to Malta that it accounts for a substantial portion of its GDP, providing jobs and attracting international businesses.
But here’s the kicker. Malta has a rule that if a gambling entity is licensed in Malta, it can operate anywhere in the EU. This arrangement has made Malta a favoured destination for gambling companies seeking an EU-wide market with minimal regulatory hurdles. The Macolin Convention, with its stringent measures against match-fixing and illegal betting, poses a direct threat to this lucrative business model.
Therefore, Malta has not only resisted signing the Macolin Convention, let alone ratifying it. The power of what has become known as the Malta Deadlock is largely blamed for the gap in countries signing the Convention in 2014 or shortly after, but not ratifying it for almost a decade.
But with France, Belgium and Lithuania all ratifying it, there are signs some countries are getting tired with Malta.
“There are no doubt economic and political interests linked to the gaming industry and online gambling. But ultimately, every stakeholder is beginning to realize the need to fight in a coordinated manner to break the stranglehold of criminal networks,” said Lourgouilloux.
So what’s next?
One of the next big steps is expanding the network of countries that have ratified the convention. Sweden is pledging to join the Macolin Convention. It might expand to Brazil, Argentina, and Australia. Sri Lankan magistrates have joined the MARS Network’s annual general assembly.
Lukowiak emphasizes the need for a multidisciplinary approach. "In Belgium, we have a multidisciplinary approach involving federations, clubs, academia, police, and judiciary to address these challenges effectively," she explains. This model can be replicated in other countries to ensure a comprehensive response to sports corruption.
"We must communicate effectively and adapt our legal instruments to keep up with evolving criminal tactics,” says Reinenbergh.