Punters ejected for betting

2008-02-12 17:02

Antwerp - Sharp-eyed ushers spotted three men who were ejected on the opening day of the WTA Diamond Games for betting on matches, officials confirmed on Tuesday.

"They saw them in the stands with computers open," said an official. "They told us and we spoke with the WTA. They had the chance to give up their computers or to leave - they left."

Officials said the men had their wireless laptops open to gambling sites, arbitraging the split-second difference between a point being played in real time and the instant later when it appeared on the tournament's live scoring system on the internet.

The Monday ejections were the first reported in a tennis-wide crackdown on possible match-fixing which has kicked into high gear since the start of the year.

The men's ATP has been plagued by various charges of some matches being rigged and has taken wide-ranging steps to try and control the growing problem.

Tournament officials at the Sportpaleis said two Russians and a German were asked to leave, with their photos taken for future reference in case they tried to return to the event which ends on Sunday.

- AFP