Tennis Needs to Protect its Sport from Gambling

Posted on November 22, 2010 by Chris Fusco

Everyone knows that the Holy Grail of sports betting is the NFL right? Well, the NFL may have a worthy rival in a sport you might not expect -- the lofty game of Tennis.

In a recent lawsuit, the plaintiff, a man named Jim Agate claims that he placed bets on tennis for the defendant, Ted Forstmann. According to Agate, he was a "go between" for Forstmann by placing his bets. Agate also alleges that Forstmann broke certain "business promises" to Agate.

For tennis, this lawsuit is a huge mess. The problem is that Forstmann is the CEO of the mega-sports agency, IMG. The Tennis Integrity Unit (no, I'm not kidding) chastised Forstmann for betting $40,000 that Roger Federer would beat Rafael Nadal in the 2007 French Open. It was a good bet, but did I mention that IMG represents BOTH Nadal and Federer? This type of gambling by an insider can call into question the legitimacy of a match even if the players where unaware (as appears to be the case here).

While Tennis instituted rules against this type conduct in 2009, the issue still remain as Forstmann used a third-party to place his bets. Since the days of the "Blacksox" baseball has had a "death penalty" for betting on its sport, seems like Tennis needs someone to act as an executioner. Maybe the TIU should get some teeth to protect its sport.

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