The Biggest Betting Scandals in Football & Other Sports

Since the beginning of gambling, resourceful players have tried to gain an advantage, for example through clever strategy or ingenious manipulation. Sports betting is no exception and always attracts fraudsters. For players looking for a reliable platform, Electric Wins Casino offers a variety of options to enhance their gaming experience while ensuring fair play.

The outcome of a match cannot be predicted unless the game is postponed and played under unfair conditions. Bribing players or referees is completely unsporting but can affect even the highest level of competition and has caused much uproar but little change.

Which betting scandals have occurred in the last 20 years across different sports at non GamStop casinos and bookmakers? We have compiled a top 5 of the most scandalous cases of so-called match fixing.

The Top 5 Sports Betting Scandals of the Last 20 Years

Match fixing is the sports betting equivalent of fixed gambling: fraudsters try to predict the outcome of a sporting match or competition by giving players or referees appropriate instructions and paying bribes for doing so. This illegal practice can severely impact the integrity of non GamStop betting, making it crucial for players to choose trustworthy platforms.

It is not only the opponents in the competition who are the losers, but also non GamStop casinos and bookmakers and sports betting players - apart from the fact that sportsmanship and fairness fall by the wayside.

Despite strict monitoring and warning systems designed to detect sports betting fraud, betting scandals have continued to occur, particularly in football. But other sports have not been spared either, and match fixing has occurred in tennis, basketball, American football, and sports such as baseball and snooker. Here are ten high-profile cases from the last 20 years.

The Flankengott Investigation Commission: The Robert Hoyzer and Felix Zwayer Betting Scandal in German Football

The 2005 football betting scandal is considered one of the biggest cases of fraud in the Bundesliga. The Berlin referee Robert Hoyzer had allowed himself to be bought by a dubious betting sponsor.

The Croatian Ante Šapina paid for the manipulation of several matches in the 2nd Bundesliga , the DFB Cup and the Regionalliga. Hoyzer was sentenced to two years and five months in prison without parole in 2005.

Robert Hoyzer was exposed for his postponed matches after other referees, Lutz Fröhlich, Olaf Blumenstein, Manuel Gräfe and Felix Zwayer, had accused him. In the Felix Zwayer betting scandal, however, the latter also took money from Hoyzer to help him manipulate the matches as a linesman. The DFB subsequently banned him for six months.

The brothers Ante and Milan Šapina also received prison sentences, but became repeat offenders and carried out betting manipulation on an even larger scale.

In 2009, the "Flankengott" investigative commission of the Bochum public prosecutor's office finally uncovered a betting scandal that involved at least 200 manipulated football matches, including 32 cases of match fixing in Germany. The fraudsters bribed players, coaches and officials and placed bets abroad, earning around ten million euros.

The "Flankengott" investigation commission cited bribes totaling 1.75 million euros in the proceedings. Starting with 250 euros for manipulated matches in the A-youth team, up to 100,000 euros were paid for matches in higher leagues. UEFA spoke of the biggest fraud scandal in European football ever.

Is match-fixing a criminal offense?

In principle, it is not illegal for an athlete or player to behave in a way that is not in his own best interests or that of his team - in other words, players are of course allowed to make mistakes. This also applies to the referee: if the referee does not do his job and decides in favor of one side, this is unsportsmanlike, but not punishable under the law, even if money has been transferred. If a referee accepts a sum of money to intentionally influence the course of the game, neither the donor nor the recipient must answer for this in the German criminal courts.

However, referees, players and team officials are subject to national and international sports jurisdiction and must expect consequences such as suspensions or professional bans. However, interfering in the game with the purpose of successfully placing sports bets through match fixing is a criminal offense.

The Australian & the Koriopolis Case: Match Fixing in Greek Professional Football

In 2011, a betting and manipulation scandal came to light in Greece when FIFA suspected several matches of being manipulated. The postponed matches concerned the second and third Greek leagues. The Greek state security and intelligence services were able to identify and convict the perpetrators through intercepted telephone conversations.

The Athens Regional Court sentenced a total of 58 officials, referees and former players to prison terms of several years, including Giorgos Borovilo, club president of Asteras Tripolis.

The longest sentence of ten years went to Wasilis Karakoulis, former owner of Ilioupolis, who was found guilty of match-fixing, illegal possession of weapons, attempted extortion and money laundering.

The press dubbed the betting scandal “Koriopolis” – a play on words that takes up the Italian Calciopoli betting scandal from 2006 and mixes it with the Greek word for “wiretapping”. The “Koriopolis” case took eight years to solve.

Despite the discovery in 2011, a criminal gang of about 60 people became active in Greece in 2012, causing another betting scandal. The Athens Money Laundering Authority uncovered the case in March 2024, which involved former national football players, coaches and representatives of the Greek Super League 1 and 2.

The starting point was a murder: On October 31, 2018, the entrepreneur Jannis Makris was shot dead in front of his property in Athens. The Greek, who had lived in Australia for a long time, was therefore nicknamed "the Australian" and was involved in drug deals abroad.

His shady business partners caught the attention of investigators: they used Greek betting companies to launder more than a billion euros in black money, for example by placing illegal bets on football matches. After the investigation was completed, led by prosecutor Charalambos Vourliotis, eleven people were found guilty.

The Calciopoli Betting Scandal in Italian Football

Calciopoli means something like "football gate" and refers to an Italian betting scandal from 2006 in the top league Serie A and the second division Serie B. Several referees, assistants, clubs and officials were involved in the case. In this case too, telephone wiretapping revealed evidence and connections.

The 2004/05 and 2005/06 Serie A competitions were suspected of match-fixing, but investigations were only carried out into 19 matches in the 2004/05 season. The teams involved were Milan, Fiorentina, Juventus, Lazio and Reggina. Juventus were subsequently stripped of their title.

Betting Scandal Involving Young Stars of the Azzurri

In October 2023, three young players from the Italian national team were suspected of being involved in illegal online sports betting. Gambling is allowed in Italy, but not on illegal betting sites on the Internet. In addition, athletes are not allowed to bet on their own sport. Violations result in bans and fines.

The focus is on Nicolò Fagioli, who plays for Juventus Turin and has also represented Italy with the Squadra Azzurra. He is said to have bet more than a million euros. He is cooperating with the public prosecutor with the prospect of a lighter sentence.

Two other players affected are Sandro Tonali and Nicolò Zaniolo, who also play for the national team and are under contract in the English Premier League. After it became known, all of the players affected were excluded from the European Championship qualification. The investigation into the case is still ongoing.