Gambling crackdown at Open
2008-03-11 19:09
Paris - French tennis authorities are to bolster their anti-gambling operations at the French Open, the second Grand Slam event of the year, which takes place from May 25-June 8.
Amid growing fears that illegal online betting on the results of matches was rife in tennis, similar efforts were put in place at the Paris Masters Series event at Bercy Stadium late last year.
These will be stepped up for Roland Garros with notably a ban on courtside laptops and surveillance of anyone suspected of using mobile phones to place bets online, said the director-general of the French Tennis Federation Jean-Francois Vilotte.
A technical system would also be put in place which would block laptops inside the grounds in the west of Paris from connecting to online betting sites.
All games would be recorded to check for any evidence of possible match-fixing with observers despatched to watch any games that were considered particularly suspicious.
A close watch would also be made on the way that match scores were developing in relation to betting surges on specialised gambling websites.
- SAPA