nep-spo 2017-02-19 papers

on Sports and Economics

Issue of 2017‒02‒19
one paper chosen by
João Carlos Correia Leitão
Universidade da Beira Interior

Match Fixing and Sports Betting in Football: Empirical Evidence from the German Bundesliga By Christian Deutscher; Eugen Dimant; Brad R. Humphreys

Match Fixing and Sports Betting in Football: Empirical Evidence from the German Bundesliga

By:	Christian Deutscher (University of Bielefeld); Eugen Dimant (University of Pennsylvania); Brad R. Humphreys (West Virginia University, Department of Economics)
Abstract:	Corruption in sports represents an important challenge to their integrity. Corruption can take many forms, including match fixing by players, referees, or team officials. Match fixing can be difficult to detect. We use a unique data set to analyze variation in bet volume on Betfair, a major online betting exchange, for evidence of abnormal patterns associated with specific referees who officiated matches. An analysis of 1,251 Bundesliga 1 football matches from 2010/11 to 2014/15 reveals evidence that bet volume in the Betfair markets in these matches was systematically higher for four referees relative to matches officiated by other referees. Our results are robust to alternative specifications and are thus suggestive of potentially existing match fixing and corruption in the German Bundesliga.
Keywords:	corruption, betting exchange, football, referee bias
JEL:	D73 K42 L8 Z2
Date:	2017–01
URL:	http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wvu:wpaper:17-01&r=spo

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