Spot-fixing

Spot-fixing refers to illegal activity in a sport in which a specific aspect of a game, unrelated to the final result but upon which a betting market exists, is fixed; examples include something as minor as timing a no ball or wide delivery in cricket, or timing the first throw-in or corner in association football. Spot-fixing attempts to defraud bookmakers by a player taking a pre-arranged action to fix the result of that specific event. Spot-fixing differs from match fixing, in which the final result of a match is fixed; or point shaving, in which corrupt players (or officials) attempt to limit the margin of victory of the favoured team. Spot-fixing is more difficult to detect than match fixing or point shaving, and by its nature can be perpetrated by a lone fraudulent player without needing any other players or officials to co-operate. The growth of internet gambling and increased variety of betting options (e.g. spread betting, first-scorer betting) resulted in the emergence of spot-fixing, particularly through the first decade of the 2000s.