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Updated November 12th, 2019 at 15:10 IST

Sri Lanka becomes first South-Asian nation to criminalise match-fixing

In a bill passed on Monday, Sri Lanka criminalised match-fixing and sports betting; the law will extend to not only the players but also any facilitators

Reported by: Mrigank Pandey
Sri Lanka
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The Sri Lankan government has now made match-fixing and sports betting illegal in the country after a bill was passed in the Parliament on Monday. These developments have come after Sri Lanka Cricket was called out by the ICC for being one of the most corrupt cricketing bodies. The Act will become a law after it is gazetted in the next ten days.

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Sri Lanka comes down harshly on corrupt practices

With the "Prevention of Offences related to Sports" bill, Sri Lanka have become the first South-Asian nation to criminalise match-fixing. The bill will not only apply to players who are directly involved in acts of match-fixing but will also go after insiders, pitch curators, and match officials who facilitate unethical practices through their co-operation. The bill has also criminalised "Acts of omission" aka not reporting corrupt approaches. If a player is approached to partake in corrupt activities, they have to not only inform the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) but also inform the Sri Lankan Government's Special Investigation Unit.

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Sri Lanka has also come down hard on sports betting. Betting was already illegal in the country, but with the new laws in place, Sri Lankan citizens will not be allowed to participate in any foreign contests as well. If caught, penalties range from heavy jail sentences to humongous fines. People who have family links to the gambling business are also not allowed to hold administrative posts in sports governing bodies. A case of this was the former president of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Thilanga Sumathipala, who sat on his chair even after his family owned a gambling business. Although Sumathipala had denied involvement with his family's gambling business.

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Corruption-stricken Sri Lankan cricket

Sri Lanka cricket has had a rough time lately as one of their cricketing legends, Sanath Jayasuriya was handed a two-year ban because of failing to co-operate with the ACU. Pacer Nuwan Zoysa also got suspended for his alleged match-fixing involvement. Fast bowler Dilhara Lokuhettige was also suspended in 2018 for corrupt practices during a tournament in 2017. The ICC ACU has been investigating Sri Lankan cricket since 2017.

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Published November 12th, 2019 at 11:08 IST

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