Spain became the 12th country to ratify it, and it will come into effect on February 1, 2025.
Spain.- Last Thursday, October 17, 2024, the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Spain to the Council of Europe deposited, before the Deputy Secretary-General of that institution, the instrument of ratification of the "Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions", also known as the Macolin Convention, which was adopted ten years ago in the Swiss city that bears this name.
Spain became the 12th country to ratify it, and its entry into force will occur on February 1, 2025. The convention was signed by another 32 European states, as well as Morocco and Australia.
"This is a fundamental step for Spain in the fight against sports manipulations and the safeguarding of the integrity of sport, placing Spain among the pioneering countries in the eradication of this scourge," stated the General Directorate for Gambling Regulation (DGOJ).
See also: General Secretariat for Consumer Affairs and Gambling in Spain: Andrés Barragán took office
In this regard, they highlighted the role of the National Commission to Combat the Manipulation of Sports Competitions and Betting Fraud (CONFAD), a collegiate body attached to the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and Agenda 2030, which has been leading the fight to prevent and eradicate corruption and manipulation of competitions and betting through coordinated action among its members.
This commission is composed of public authorities, entities organizing sports competitions, and representatives of the gambling sector. It is worth noting that recently, CONFAD created, on its website, a notification portal through which alerts can be submitted in case of suspicions of fraud in sports betting that would go directly to the Global Betting Market Investigation Service (SIGMA), managed by the DGOJ.
