Match Fixing Has Existed for Centuries. Gambling Apps Are Making It Worse

tech.hindustantimes.com:

Once upon a time, snooker — a cousin of pool and billiards with roots in the British Raj — was a boutique, almost backwater, pastime. No longer. Its popularity has soared globally, particularly in China, and it may be included as a sport in the 2024 Olympics.

That means a lot of gamblers bet on snooker. It also means that match fixing is in the mix. Ten elite Chinese players are currently being investigated for throwing games to help somebody cash in some presumably large bets. So here we are: A digital boom in sports gambling — accompanied by bigger incentives for scamsters and crooks to corrupt games — means even something as quaint as snooker can be corrupted.

And it's everywhere. The fix has been in on handball matches. Triathlons and biathlons are worried about fixes. Organized crime has targeted kabaddi matches in India. Lots of betting now whirls around table tennis, volleyball and cricket. Tennis — tennis! — has its woes. Wimbledon and other high-profile tournaments have been scarred by investigations of match fixing. Fixers have even tried to get to the top of the sport. Superstar Novak Djokovic said fixers unsuccessfully approached him in the past.

Match fixing exists because gambling exists, in much the same way that insider trading exists because the stock market exists. It's where the money is.

While match fixing has always been around, it's now more frequent and ubiquitous, analysts say, because the advent of online gambling and mobile devices allow almost anyone, anywhere, to bet. Odds and wagers are offered on a global buffet of different sports — and all of them are potentially corruptible.

Match fixing isn't just one thing. It's an umbrella term that the sports world, law enforcement, gambling industry