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Action over French Open betting
01/02/2008 17:02 - (SA)
Raf Casert
Brussels - French Open organisers opened a landmark court case on Friday in a bid to ban online gambling companies from offering bets on the Grand Slam tournament.
The French filed a complaint before a Liege court in eastern Belgium and in Paris, claiming the internet betting companies stain the reputation of the clay-court championship at Roland Garros.
The director-general of the French Tennis Federation, Jean-Francois Vilotte said: "There is urgency to act because sporting ethic is at risk. It is an issue as important as the fight against doping."
The issue of integrity in tennis came to the fore in August last year when an online betting site - Betfair - voided all wagers on a match in Poland between fifth-ranked Nikolay Davydenko and 87th-ranked Martin Vassallo Arguello because of irregular betting patterns. Davydenko withdrew from the match in the third set, citing a foot injury.
Suing three companies
Since then, several players came forward to say they have been approached with offers to fix matches for money.
The French federation is suing three companies - Betfair, Bwin and Ladbrokes - with a court injunction to stop their betting activity on the French Open. It seeks a fine of $75 000 a day for any violations, said Vilotte's lawyer, Jean-Louis Dupont.
If successful, the court case could drastically affect the multibillion dollar sports betting industry, which thrives on such events like the tennis majors.
Along with soccer and horse racing, tennis is among the most popular sports when it comes to betting and gamblers can put wagers on such small detail as how many points will be won by one player in a specific game.
When Vilotte monitored the ATP Masters Series tournament in Paris, which the FFT also organises, he said bets over the weeklong tournament totaled between $750m and $1.5bn.
Dupont said the federation's case was built on two basic tenants: that the betting companies were tainting the reputation of the French Open and unfairly using the tournament as a way of making money.
Late last year, three Italian pros - Potito Starace, Daniele Bracciali and Alessio Di Mauro - were suspended for betting on tennis matches involving other players.
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