SPORTS AND ORGANIZED CRIME: WAYS TO GAIN THE ILLEGAL MATERIAL BENEFIT (CRIMINOLOGICAL ANALYSIS)

Sport has been an object of study of criminologists for a long time, but national criminology needs more scientific and empirical data about gaining, by organized criminal groups, enourmous illegal profits from sporting events. Russian organized crime spread its criminal influence on the sphere of sports later than in the most foreign capitalist countries, only when this sphere in Russia became to be financed on a large scale from various sources, including not only state funds, but also the assets of private individuals, so, when the sport became one of the most attractive segments of the economy for criminal groups. But that historical period has not yet been long enough to judge about the seriousness of the threat from organized crime to Russian and world sports. In addition, the accumulation of criminological data is also hindered by the sports community’s closeness to social control and because of the corruption component of the methods of obtaining criminal benefits, which determines their high latency. In order to choose and develop the most promising ways of combating organized crime in sports, it is necessary to draw up a reliable picture of the activities of organized criminal groups in this area and determine the methods of extracting criminal proceeds are the most often practiced by organized criminal associations. To achieve this result, a documentary analysis of the materials of the Russian and foreign press was carried out as well as obtaining some expert assessments and interviews of people involved in professional sports. The study showed that organized crime groups, operating in the field of sports, most often use the bookmaker’s business and tote, which violate the requirements for betting on official sports competitions and other gambling, as a means of obtaining, directly or indirectly, material benefits. This particular method guarantees a quick but systematic receipt of illegal income on a large scale.

organized crime, organized criminal group, obtaining an illegal benefit, sports, betting, gambling, tote, fixing match, bribery, corruption, dishonest refereeing.

Topilskaya E. V. Sports and organized crime: ways to gain the illegal material benefit (criminological analysis). Business. Education. Law, 2020, no. 3, pp. 350–355. DOI: 10.25683/VOLBI.2020.52.369.