The United States Equestrian Federation Board of Directors recently approved the adoption of a Policy for the Prevention of the Manipulation of Competition, which will go into effect Dec. 1, 2022. Fantasy games and betting on equestrian sport are growing in popularity, and this Policy mitigates risks that could compromise the integrity and essence of sport.
Below is a short summary of the policy, including when and to whom it applies.
What is prohibited?
Under the policy, all competition manipulation is strictly prohibited. Violations of this policy include, but are not limited to:
- Betting money (or items of monetary value) on a competition by Participants of that Competition;
- Improper use of insider information by Participants, whether the Participant uses the information themselves or discloses it to an outside person/entity;
- Giving and/or receiving a benefit in exchange for inside information, whether or not the inside information is actually exchanged;
- Participant(s) acting with the intention to lose a Competition or part of it, or perform less than optimally (ex: “throwing a match”);
- A Participant engaging in Match Fixing or Manipulating a Competition or encouraging any other Participant to match fix or otherwise manipulate a competition; and
- Failure to cooperate with USEF investigation into possible violations of this policy.
Who is required to comply?
Any person belonging to one of the following categories is required to comply with the Policy:
- Athletes participating in a Competition;
- Athlete support personnel working with or treating Athlete(s) or horses participating in or preparing for Competition (and all other persons working with the Athlete(s) and/or horses);
- Owners, shareholders, or interested parties in a horse in a competition;
- Officials – includes licensed officials, any licensee, manager, or secretary of a Competition, any other Competition staff or those with an ownership interest in the Competition;
- Those serving as volunteers or paid staff of the Federation or a Recognized Affiliate Association.
What happens when a violation occurs?
A violation or an attempted violation by a Participant may be investigated by USEF and subject to disciplinary proceedings pursuant to Federation Bylaws Part VII and General Rules Chapter 7.
Participants in FEI events are further reminded that FEI has adopted its own Code on the Prevention of the Manipulation of Competitions and covered participants are required to abide by the FEI Code in addition to USEF policy.
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