The House of Lords International Agreements Committee has approved ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions, known as the Macolin Convention. The UK signed the treaty in 2018 but has not formally ratified it.
The convention is the first binding international legal instrument against match-fixing and sports manipulation. During hearings, the committee heard from the Gambling Commission and Moses Swaibu, a former Crystal Palace player convicted of match-fixing in 2013 who now works in sports integrity education. Witnesses noted that football and tennis are particularly vulnerable to betting-related corruption, with lower leagues at higher risk. Manipulation often crosses borders and involves organized crime.
Ratification will formalize existing cooperation and improve intelligence sharing between countries. The UK will gain a seat on the convention's monitoring committee. The committee warned that the convention is not a complete solution and will not eliminate match-fixing or unregulated betting markets.
Committee chair Lord Johnson called ratification "a step in the right direction" and stressed that international cooperation is necessary to tackle a problem that is often transnational in nature. The committee's report will be debated in the House of Lords on 15 September.
