WELLINGTON, May 5 (AFP): New Zealand said Monday it will make match-fixing a specific crime for the first time to ensure sport remains corruption-free as the country prepares to co-host next year's Cricket World Cup.
Sports Minister Murray McCully said that in recent years some sporting codes had been targeted by international criminal syndicates "seeking to gain unfair advantage to illegally profit from sports betting".
"These activities compromise athletes and tarnish sport," he said, announcing the creation of a new crime of match-fixing, with a maximum penalty of seven years behind bars.
McCully said that while some elements of match-fixing would have been covered by existing crimes such as fraud, they were not designed to deal specifically with sports.
NZ to make match-fixing a crime
FE Team | Published: May 06, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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