Grigor Sargsyan kept a close eye on low-rated tennis players who often participated in little-known tournaments with small prize funds. He began selecting players who were willing to cooperate with him and accept money to knowingly lose matches.
The conspiracy made it possible to provide tennis betting services with the certainty that the outcome of the match would be completely controlled. It was difficult to hide the conspiracy from prying eyes, but Grigor Sargsyan and his colleagues invested considerable effort in the security of the fraudulent scheme.
However, their activities did not go unnoticed. The sports authorities had suspicions of business fraud and bribery taking place in tennis, but it was not easy to uncover and prove the criminal activities. There were investigations and undercover operations that met a lot of difficulties and obstacles along the way.
In 2016, the International Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) were finally able to uncover this international collusion network and apprehended several leading figures, including Grigor Sargsyan. He was listed as the ringleader of the organization, accused of systematic match-fixing and bribing tennis players.
The players involved in the scheme were aware of the tactics of artificially losing certain parts of the match and shared the share of their winnings with Sargsyan, who was the main organizer of the whole process. At the same time, we are talking about professional tennis players participating in all major tournaments.
The organizers of the scheme deliberately chose little-known matches to prevent the regulators from drawing attention to their actions. They also set limits on the size of bets so as not to arouse suspicion. This was particularly important because a large amount of money bet on an unknown match could quickly attract the attention of authorities and regulators, leading to the detection of fraudulent activity.
Although the money that players could earn from such losses was not huge, the scheme became very lucrative for Sargsyan. Due to the large number of bets that were placed on various matches, he was able to receive significant amounts of money. For this, he created a whole team of people who placed bets all over Europe with online bookmakers on his behalf.
It is interesting to note that the decision to bet on the outcome of little-known matches was due to the high probability of success. More famous tournaments usually attract a huge amount of attention from analysts and regulators, which reduces the possibility of profit. However, thanks to a calibrated scheme, Sargsyan was able to circumvent the system and make significant money.
The scandalous incident turned out to be a big blow to world tennis and caused a serious shock in the sports community. Sargsyan was immediately suspended from all activities, not only tennis but also sports. The organization created by the fraudster was exposed, and governments of different countries engaged in investigations aimed at identifying and punishing all participants involved in the machinations of match-fixing.
Law enforcers and journalists who uncovered the fraudulent scheme are asking not only sportsmen to be careful but also sports fans who bet. Betting on sports along with gambling is a threat to a person’s well-being, as addiction can ruin lives, families, and careers. Plus, according to www.topcadcasinos.net, many casinos and bookmakers give users free money to play. Such marketing ploys tempt users to place bets and make addiction worse.
