More turmoil in amateur football: manipulation in 17 matches?

In recent weeks, amateur football in Germany has increasingly become the focus of media attention. The attention was triggered by a documentary on public TV channels, which showed that sports betting on such games is widespread and that those responsible in Germany often have no idea about it. The judiciary has so far kept a low profile. In the latest case, however, the DFB called in the Federal Criminal Police Office: up to 17 matches are said to have been manipulated for betting purposes.

Placing or offering bets on amateur matches is prohibited in Germany. This also includes the support of such programmes, which provide so-called data scouts in particular. Such middlemen attend matches and provide the bookmakers with centralised information, which is then used to provide diverse and dynamic odds. We recently reported that clubs are now increasingly looking for such scouts and issuing bans.

The incidents of the last few weeks and the increased attention may have already made the judiciary sit up and take notice, but it was apparently not enough to intervene. That has now changed.

As reported by NDR, a whole series of lower-class football matches were allegedly influenced for the purpose of betting fraud - 17 matches in total. The DFB called in the Federal Criminal Police Office. Investigations are underway into suspected match-fixing in Hamburg and other federal states. In addition, the Hamburger Abendblatt newspaper once again highlighted dubious processes surrounding data scouts in the region. It is true that there have been several incidents in amateur football in recent years involving manipulation for sports betting. However, as the red alert currently seems to be in force in the lower leagues, the already heated topic is likely to be fuelled further and taken all the more seriously by both the authorities and the associations.

Hamburg, Saarland, Hesse: Manipulations allegedly related to bets on the exact match result

The suspected fraudsters used modern digital means and clever tactics to conceal their illegal activities.

1. According to initial findings, the agreements are said to have been made via darknet platforms, where information on the expected exact match results for selected amateur matches was sold. This practice enabled those involved to make high profits from betting providers without immediately attracting attention. The decisive factor was the use of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, which are particularly attractive for criminal activities due to their anonymity and difficult-to-trace transaction paths. Corresponding chat logs, which are currently being analysed by the authorities, are said to confirm these deals.
2. In order to avoid the attention of the surveillance systems, only a limited stake per game was allegedly placed. This measure prevented unusually high betting activity from being registered for the games in question. In addition, the manipulated games were allegedly only made accessible to a small circle of ‘customers’ in order to further minimise the risk of detection. It is remarkable how professionally and strategically the masterminds acted by avoiding the betting protection systems.

Most of the suspicious matches are said to have taken place during the week in the evening, which indicates a precise selection of matches to further minimise the risk of detection.

According to NDR, the DFB doubts that it is even possible to manipulate matches for the exact result. It remains cautious with regard to the ongoing investigations and emphasises that reliable evidence is still outstanding. However, in cooperation with monitoring partner Genius Sports, intensive efforts are being made to clarify the incidents.

Bans again and more specific anomalies relating to data scouts

With the current suspicion of manipulation, the data scouts were once again scrutinised. The Hamburger Abendblatt reported on two matches involving Niendorfer TSV and TSV Sasel, where the clubs were informed in advance of any suspicious betting activities.

During the matches, several data scouts were tracked down and used their smartphones to process specific game situations. At both sports facilities, it was observed how the men systematically forwarded every relevant action on the pitch - from corner kicks and free kicks to changes of side - to an unknown recipient. As soon as they were directed away from the respective sports grounds, the tips on the matches in question were abruptly cancelled, which clearly demonstrates the high relevance of the scouts for betting activities.

Niendorf manager Marcus Scholz described the incident in detail to NDR:

‘There was a tip-off that there were abnormalities and that there was special betting on the match. We like to keep our eyes open to see if anyone is behaving conspicuously - and that was the case. We then had someone standing there with his mobile phone and describing every situation. Right side, left side, change of flank, corner, goal kick - it was relatively clear that he was doing something for a betting company. The man was then confronted directly and banned from the premises.’

A similar incident was reported at an Oberliga match between Altona 93 and Vorwärts Wacker Billstedt. Here, club representatives discovered another suspected data scout, who was also expelled from the stadium.

These incidents emphasise that the presence of scouts collecting live information for the betting market is not uncommon in amateur football. As German amateur clubs are now increasingly trained to identify such observers due to the media attention, this could lead to more expulsions and further measures in the future.

Conclusion

Image source: https://pixabay.com/photos/soccer-money-commercial-sports-673206/