Department for Culture, Media and Sport to give evidence on match-fixing

The House of Lords International Agreements Committee will tomorrow be holding the final evidence session for its scrutiny of the Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions (the Macolin Convention), by questioning the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.  

Giving evidence will be: 

• Emma Floyd, Director, Sport and Gambling, Department for Culture, Media and Sport 

• Simon Mason, Deputy Director, Sport, Department for Culture, Media and Sport 

Questions the committee is likely to ask include: 

• What is the Government's assessment of the issue of sports manipulation and its impacts on the UK? 

• What did the Government's compliance assessment find in respect of Northern Ireland, which has a separate regulatory framework for gambling to Great Britain, and what further information has been received from Devolved Administrations regarding their implementation measures? 

• The Committee understands that only 17 states have ratified the Convention to date, while a further 25 have signed but not ratified it. What is the Government's understanding of why so many states have not yet ratified the agreement? 

• What value would be added by the UK ratifying the Convention? 

• The Government's Explanatory Memorandum states that ratification by the UK has been delayed due to competing priorities. Are there particular reasons for moving forward with ratification at this time? 

• Given how sports manipulation and betting are evolving, are there any aspects of the Convention the Government considers could potentially benefit from reform in the future? 

The session will take place at 2pm on Tuesday 21 July and can be watched live on Parliament TV.