Iltalehti’s survey revealed that the Finnish Freestyle Association has poorly informed the athletes about the betting rules.
- Violation of betting rules has come to the fore in Finland across sport boundaries.
- According to Iltalehti’s survey, many contestants do not know the betting rules exactly or have not received official information about them.
- Competitors hope for clearer communication and mandatory training on the rules from the federation, clubs and event organizers.
After the Ice Cage 6 held on Boxing Day, it was revealed that the star competitor Theo Kolehmainen had bet on his own match – more precisely on his own victory.
The ticket that brought “three tons” to the box office also had other fighters who won. Kolehmainen told about his betting at Ice Cage’s official press conference.
The topic started to be talked about on internet discussion boards and social media. The Finnish Freestyle Association is committed to complying with the Fair Competition program of the Finnish Sports Ethics Center. It prohibits betting on its own sporting event.
When Iltalehti reached out to Kolehmainen about the subject on Sunday, December 28, he had already informed Suek about the matter. Kolehmainen said that he was not aware of the betting rule.
Iltalehti reached out to 11 Finnish free athletes to answer questions about the betting rules. It turned out that not everyone is aware of the regulation and the official bodies have not informed about it.
The background is also the floorball betting scandal, where a large number of bans were handed out to the league’s players and officials. So the topic is on the surface in Finnish sports.
Volunteers were allowed to answer the survey without their names being published.
The case of Lingman
Theo Kolehmainen won the first round by knockout over Toni Lampinen in Ice Cage 6. Atte Kajova
The first question for the contestants was as follows: Before Theo Kolehmainen’s case, were you aware that betting on your own sports event is prohibited by the rules?
Eight out of 11 respondents knew that betting on their own match event is not allowed. Not one was completely ignorant of the rule.
– I was aware that of course you shouldn’t bet on your own loss, but I didn’t think that you couldn’t bet on your own win, one said.
One, on the other hand, came across a similar case some time ago, when a fighter attached to Immun Fight Club Nico Lingman said that he hit for his own victory for the March match. Lingman told about it on Instagram and continued that he had voided the bet after hearing that playing for one’s own profit is not allowed.
The player of the round said that he knew that some betting companies forbid the playing of their own matches, but said that he did not know that it was also prohibited in the rules of the Free Match Association.
Another said that he only knew that playing his own matches was forbidden. However, the rule article can be interpreted so that you cannot play from other matches of the same event either. This can be justified by the utilization of insider information.
One contestant had a clear view on the subject.
– In my opinion, this is completely common knowledge in competitive sports, that you can’t bet on other people’s matches on the same night, and certainly not on your own match. All coaches and athletes should know this – especially if they consider themselves “professional”. For me, this falls into the same category as the fact that the competitor is expected to be at the right weight on the pound, he said.
Where is the enlightenment?
Another question: Have you heard about the betting rules from Vapaatoletutliitto or some other party? If you want, you can specify from whom and in which situations.
Enlightenment can be said to be in the know based on the answers, which sounds strange.
Only one competitor said that he had heard talk about the topic at the Vapaatoletliito camp, in connection with Suek’s training.
– The topic was part of the lecture/training.
The majority had not heard about the matter from the official side. The athletes are therefore responsible for browsing the rules.
– I haven’t particularly heard, but at least sometimes when browsing Suek’s pages, there has been a mention there, one said.
– There has never been a conversation with any official body about the matter, answered another.
– I have not heard from the official body. Sometimes, when it was possible to bet on a domestic free match for the first time, there was a discussion about it in our own training group, the third said.
Finnish floorball faced the biggest scandal in its history last year. Ville Vuorinen / Floorball Association
One said that he heard about the betting rule from the mouth of the free match coach.
– I’ve never heard anything related to betting from the Freelance Association. And not really from anywhere else, came one answer.
Clear or unclear?
The rule reads verbatim as follows: “The athlete and the athlete’s coaches/team management do not have the right themselves or through their representative to participate in betting on their own competitive event. The athlete and the athlete’s coaches/team management undertake not to participate in any kind of manipulation of sports competitions.”
The rule in question can be found From the forms on the website of the Free Match Associationwhere the Fair Competition program is saved.
The third question was: Do you think the rule section is clear? If not, why?
Three of the respondents had not seen or familiarized themselves with the regulation. The most common answer was that the rule is “quite clear”, while only two thought it was completely clear.
– Of course, it’s a bit unclear where the line for other operators is. A certain promoter is not allowed to bet, and probably not a trainer or a judge. What about other people? Other employees of the event? one respondent reflected.
“I haven’t heard”
There are strict rules for betting on sports, which many sports federations in Finland have committed to follow. PDO
The fourth question was: Have you heard or seen that Finnish competitors bet on their matches or other matches of the same event (before Kolehmainen’s case)?
The answers were divided into extremes. 10 contestants answered the question, and six of them had not heard or seen anything.
Two respondents, on the other hand, knew of several cases where bets had been placed.
– I have heard that the team bet on their own victory in matches. But I don’t know for sure except for this Kolehmainen thing, because he brought it out. But what I do know is that the contestants are playing from other matches of the events.
– I am aware of several cases where the contestant or the close circle of the contestant plays for their own matches (always a win), said another.
Why shouldn’t you bet on your own winnings? In addition to using inside information, there is a theoretical possibility that the losing party could also get dividends from the bet.
In Kolehminen’s case, according to the information, there was no question of this or anything else related to competition manipulation.
No feedback
Theo Kolehmainen has become a big sports star in the Ice Cage. Atte Kajova
In the last question, you could give feedback, for example, in the direction of the union. How could awareness of the betting rule be improved?
One competitor wondered what is the duty of the supervising body to inform the athletes about the rule. The core of the problem seems to be that the information is not very easily accessible.
– Probably [sääntö] reads somewhere in Suek’s sopper, but few people even read the terms and conditions of operating system updates completely, one answered.
The competition license is purchased online from the Suomisport service at the beginning of each calendar year.
Almost all respondents wished for clearer communication from the Vapaaotelutliito direction. Clubs and event organizers were also held accountable.
– One of the suggestions for improvement was some mandatory training that should be taken care of in order to be allowed to go to matches.