UN Published a Report on Countering Corruption in Sport in the Western Hemisphere

The document was prepared pursuant to Conference of the States Parties resolution 7/8 “Corruption in sport,” adopted in 2017. Its objective is to provide an overview of corruption trends in the sports sector and corresponding responses in selected countries in the Americas and the Caribbean, namely: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the United States of America and Uruguay.

The report draws on information from official sources, academic journals, studies and analytical articles, as well as responses to a questionnaire circulated among participants at the conference “Safeguarding Sport in the Americas and the Caribbean: Focus on protecting football from corruption, other crimes and related wrongdoing,” held on 11–12 June 2024 in Miami, United States, and feedback received from other experts and officials as part of an extended review process.

As noted in the publication, in recent decades the sports sector has undergone major transformations – globalization, a substantial influx of financial resources into professional sport, the rapid growth of legal and illegal betting, and marked technological advances. These developments have had a significant impact on the scale and nature of corruption in sport. Consequently, between 2015 and 2024, no fewer than 12 resolutions and political declarations addressing corruption in sport were adopted by various United Nations bodies, conferences and forums. International organizations, including the Group of Twenty (G20), have likewise called on Governments to strengthen efforts to address this challenge, including through the adoption of the G20 High-Level Principles on Tackling Corruption in Sport. Growing international attention, however, must be matched by action at the local, national and international levels.

The countries of the Americas and the Caribbean have long played a prominent role in global sport. The regions have hosted major international competitions – Olympic Games, FIFA World Cups, ICC Cricket World Cups – and will do so again in the coming years. At the same time, sport in these regions remains vulnerable to corruption. The report identifies the following main corruption risks:

corruption directly linked to sporting activity (manipulation of sports competitions and/or their outcomes; illegal betting);
corrupt practices in sport-adjacent contexts (major sports events; player transfers; administration of sports organizations);
vulnerabilities exploited by serious and organized crime (use of corruption in sports and related contexts; cybercrime; trafficking in persons; and other forms of crime committed in the sports environment).

1. Manipulation of sports competitions

The report highlights the following trends:

a rise in cases involving manipulation of match results and specific sporting events within competitions (e.g. the number of yellow cards). High-profile cases in the region demonstrate that both men’s and women’s sports are affected. Growing awareness has led to heightened attention, legislative and institutional reforms and large-scale investigations;
expansion of dedicated criminal legislation addressing competition manipulation, enabling more effective prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution and sanctioning, and facilitating international cooperation. According to the report, such legislation now exists in 48 countries globally; among the 15 countries covered, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, the United States and Uruguay have explicit criminalization provisions.

2. Illegal betting

Key findings include:

explosive growth in illegal online betting over the past two decades, including sports betting, driven by increased Internet access, globalized sports broadcasting and limited legal regulatory frameworks in some jurisdictions;
a regional trend towards legalizing betting and revising applicable legislation, resulting in exponential growth of regulated gambling markets, including sports-related betting products;
challenges faced by national authorities in enforcing laws to combat illegal betting due to the scale and reach of illicit platforms, leaving vulnerable groups at heightened risk of gambling addiction and indebtedness;
exploitation of online betting by organized criminal groups, which create illegal platforms mimicking legitimate operators and use them for money-laundering;
the need to strengthen the integrity of legal betting markets – through robust regulatory frameworks, enhanced transparency and accountability, consumer protection and effective sanctions – to clearly distinguish lawful services from illegal markets.

3. Major sports events

According to the report:

major sports events are particularly vulnerable to corruption and collusion owing to the substantial procurement budgets involved and the multiplicity of stakeholders. High-profile scandals have undermined public trust in the integrity of such events and in the ethical standards of sports organizations, underscoring the need for stronger governance, transparency and accountability;
with several major competitions forthcoming in the region – the FIFA World Cup 2026, the 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games, the 2027 Pan American Games and the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles – there is heightened interest in mitigating corruption risks, particularly in procurement and event organization, and in promoting fair and transparent practices through effective anti-corruption governance.

4. Transfer of athletes

According to the report:

high demand for athletes, particularly footballers from Central and South America, and the resulting volume of transfers create significant corruption risks, including illicit payments, money-laundering and fraudulent schemes involving unscrupulous agents and senior officials of sports organizations, often associated with the exploitation of minors and vulnerable athletes;
the lack of regional statistical data complicates the assessment of the scale and nature of corruption linked to athlete transfers in Central and South America, highlighting the need for further empirical research;
national-level protection of athletes requires targeted measures, such as adopting sector-specific anti-corruption policies (e.g. integration of anti-trafficking measures into Brazil’s sports funding system), raising awareness of risks, developing ethical codes and rules of conduct for player agents, and systematically collecting data on corruption cases and methods.

5. Administration of sports organizations

The report notes that:

numerous cases involving embezzlement, vote-buying and favoritism within sports organizations in the Americas and the Caribbean continue to undermine governance systems, distort decision-making processes and restrict fair access to resources (especially in environments with weak oversight), underscoring the high vulnerability of sports organizations to corruption;
the countries examined are taking steps to strengthen governance through clearer legal mandates and institutional reforms. Examples include Mexico’s issuance of a Guide on Preventing Corruption and Promoting Integrity Principles for national sports bodies, the development (with UNODC support) of a Good Governance Code for the Sports Sector and a Risk Assessment Matrix, and the delivery of training sessions on corruption prevention and risk management. In Brazil, following a bribery scandal involving IOC members in the selection of the 2016 Olympic host city, the national Olympic committee underwent extensive reforms, including enhanced athlete participation in decision-making bodies, regular financial reporting and independent audits, the creation of an ethics committee and the introduction of a comprehensive compliance programme.

6. Corruption and organized crime

Key conclusions include:

increasing evidence shows that organized criminal groups use the sports sector as a low-risk, high-profit environment for illicit activities, infiltrating all levels of sport – from amateur to professional, and from local to international;
due to limited systematic data, the full scale and consequences of organized crime’s involvement in sport remain difficult to assess; however, the Americas and the Caribbean appear to be particularly affected, especially in football and horse racing;
organized criminal groups exploit sports organizations and related events to consolidate local influence, launder illicit proceeds, manipulate competitions and exploit athletes for illegal profit.

Based on its analysis, UNODC identifies priority areas for enhancing anti-corruption efforts in sport in the Americas and the Caribbean, including:

1) Strengthening national and international cooperation:

establishing platforms and mechanisms for information exchange and good practices among sports bodies, criminal justice authorities and anti-corruption institutions;
appointing focal points to coordinate and support international initiatives;
expanding participation in UNODC and IPACS programmes aimed at safeguarding sport from corruption and economic crime.

2) Developing specialized training and capacity-building:

targeted training for law enforcement and anti-corruption authorities on detecting and investigating sports-related crime;
using UNODC, IOC and INTERPOL educational materials on competition manipulation and bribery in sport;
awareness-raising and ethics training for athletes, coaches and officials.

3) Enhancing legislation and enforcement mechanisms:

reviewing and updating national legislation in line with the United Nations Convention against Corruption;
adopting provisions criminalizing competition manipulation and illegal betting;
including sports organizations among entities subject to anti-money-laundering obligations;
strengthening oversight of betting regulations and sports financing.

4) Addressing policy and risk assessment gaps:

conducting national and sectoral assessments of corruption risks in sport, including youth and women’s sport;
monitoring the involvement of organized crime in sports, particularly in football and betting;
integrating sports integrity issues into national anti-corruption strategies and Government programmes.

5) Improving data collection and analysis:

establishing mechanisms for systematic data collection, exchange and analysis on corruption and related crimes in sport;
supporting academic and interdisciplinary research on the scale and trends of sports-related corruption;
ensuring high standards of data protection, particularly regarding minors and vulnerable groups;
regularly providing information to UNODC for further international analysis.