This is the fourth in a series of five posts on the topic of fraud in sports.  The first post, from December 5, was about marathon cheaters and how the frauds they perpetrate are discovered, investigated, and reported.  The second post, on December 12, was about fraud and falsification in the thru-hiking community.  December 19’s post was about fraud in sports gambling and betting. Today’s post will focus on fraud in sports both in history and current-day worldwide via game fixing. The fifth and final post in the series, on January 9, will be about major doping scandals in different sports and will focus on the ways athletes cheated by doping and how their use of performance enhancing drugs were supported or not identified by various institutions.

Game fixing is when a match is played to a final result which is partially or totally pre-determined.  Players, on their own or in conspiracy with others, may do this in an ongoing conspiracy in order to make money for and from gamblers.  Coaches and team administrations may also orchestrate losses for various reasons, including to impact their odds for the next season, including in draft position as well as for a friendlier schedule or playoff access.  For purposes of this post, game fixing also includes institutional operations to spy and cheat by teams personnel and coaches, with or without the cooperation of referees and/or players.