Veikkaus has confirmed that it will temporarily not accept wagers on elite men’s floorball competitions, because of suspicious betting activities that have triggered an inquiry by the Finnish Center for Sports Ethics.
The bets were placed on the elite tiers of the sport, including the F-Liiga, the Finnish Cup, international events, and other games that involve high-profile athletes and representatives of the sport.
Veikkaus Goes After as Many As 100 People in Gambling Breaches
While the suspension is said to be temporary, Veikkaus has no immediate plans to renew the activity until the Finnish Center for Sports Ethics has completed its probe and determined if enforcement and disciplinary action are necessary.
Preliminary investigative activities suggest that it is. Individuals have been named in the inquiry, and they will be given the lawful period to respond. These events have been triggered by two specific games, Veikkaus explained.
One of those is the game between Finland and Norway in the 2024 Men’s World Championship, as well as a domestic game between Classic and SVP in the 2024-25 F-Liiga season.
According to the regulator, both events generated suspicious betting activities, and particularly large-sized wagers that the watchdog concluded must have been placed because of the leaking of insider information.
The scope of the investigation and potential enforcement action could target as many as 100 people, even though at first, only about a dozen or so related people were thought to have been involved. If those concerns are borne out by evidence, this could be one of the most widespread scandals concerning a sport in Europe over the past years.
Floorball Betting to Not be Continued Until Further Notice
It is not clear what role the suspected wrongdoers have played in the betting manipulation – whether it was by leaking information or purposefully faltering plays to ensure that certain betting outcomes came through. Either way, this is one of the most serious breaches in the history of modern sport.
Veikkaus will announce the findings and those of the center, and issue corresponding penalties to the people it deems to have played a role in the breach of gambling rules.
Jerome García
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