The Asian Racing Federation Council on Anti-illegal Betting and Related Financial Crime (“the ARF Council”) released in May a new publication: “The State of Illegal Betting”. The State of Illegal Betting report examines the current situation of illegal betting, what this means in relation to legal betting, and what both will look like in the future. The report includes analysis of more than 500 betting websites to examine their licensing status, products offered, website traffic, server locations and other data points. The report also includes a series of commentaries from ARF Council members on how sports data can fuel illegal betting; the greater negative impacts of illegal betting and gambling-related harm; international and intergovernmental issues around corruption in sport; and notable examples and development in sports law in relation to illegal betting. The report also includes contributions from INTERPOL and the UNODC regarding their views on the relationship between illegal betting, sports corruption, and organised crime.

The Handbook, written by the Asian Racing Federation Council on Anti-illegal Betting and Related Financial Crime, aims to (1) highlight the risks to the integrity of racing and other sports from illegal betting-related sports corruption, and (2) provide practical guidance to administrators and other key stakeholders to mitigate against and combat such corruption. It has been written by the Council members, a group of experts from horse racing and sports integrity management, law enforcement, sports law, and international government relations. The Asian Racing Federation is a regional federation comprising 28 racing authorities and racing-related organisations, with a wide geographic spread from New Zealand to South Africa. Among its core objectives is the promotion of integrity in the sport of horse racing. The Asian Racing Federation Anti-Illegal Betting Taskforce was established in 2017 and now comprises 14 members from organisations engaged in horse racing and sports integrity, law enforcement, the UNODC, and academia. In October 2020, the task force was renamed as the Asian Racing Federation Council on Anti-illegal Betting & Related Financial Crime whose purpose is to foster and enhance international cooperation among horse racing operators, regulators, intergovernmental organisations and government agencies in order to better combat the threat of illegal betting and other financial crimes to horse racing integrity in particular, and sport in general.