CROATIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Lovro Badžim, Badžim Law Practice
1.2 Misconduct and Match-Fixing Preventing Unfair Conduct by Athletes in Croatia – Short Overview Croatia addresses unfair conduct in sport through a combination of criminal law, sports legislation, and disciplinary rules of sports organisations. Together, these mechanisms target both individual misconduct by athletes and broader integrity risks such as match- fixing, corruption, and conflicts of interest. At the criminal law level, the Criminal Code treats match-fixing, betting fraud, bribery, and related cor - ruption in sport as serious offences. Manipulating competition results or engaging in fraudulent betting schemes can lead to prison sentences, while general corruption offences apply fully to sporting contexts. This reflects a clear policy that integrity violations in sport are not merely internal matters but crimes that harm public trust. Sports-specific legislation adds a further layer. The Sports Act imposes duties of fair play and ethical con - duct on athletes, coaches, and officials, while the Act on the Prevention of Disorder at Sports Competitions allows sanctions for conduct that threatens the integ - rity of events, including fines, bans from attending matches, and other protective measures. The Sports Act also strictly separates sport from gambling by prohibiting officials and governing bodies from having links to betting operators. Compliance is supervised by the Sports Inspectorate. In parallel, sports organisations play a key role. National federations and the Croatian Olympic Com - mittee enforce disciplinary rules that allow suspen - sions, bans, forfeiture of prizes, and exclusion from sport, independently of criminal proceedings. Preven - tive measures are also emphasised, including edu - cation on integrity and betting risks. Where criminal behaviour is suspected, sports bodies are required to co-operate with law enforcement, including special - ised prosecutors such as USKOK. This framework has been tested in practice. The 2010 “Offside” match-fixing scandal led to multiple convictions of players and officials in Croatia, while the international case of Ante Šapina highlighted the
cross-border nature of sports corruption and the need for international co-operation. 1.3 Betting-Related Offences Betting in Croatia is legal, but tightly controlled. It is regulated by the Gambling Act, under which only operators that have obtained government approval, authorisation from the Ministry of Finance, and a for - mal concession may lawfully offer betting services. The system is highly supervised: operators must meet strict financial and technical conditions, comply with approved betting rules, and are monitored by the Min - istry of Finance, including through real-time oversight. Player protection is central to the regime. Opera - tors must verify players’ identities, exclude minors, maintain self-exclusion registers, and respect strict advertising limits. Certain forms of betting – such as on political elections – are prohibited, and ownership links between betting operators and sports clubs competing at the same level are banned to prevent conflicts of interest. Sports law adds a further layer of restrictions. The Sports Act prohibits officials and persons managing sports organisations from having links to betting oper - ators. National federations build on this by banning athletes, referees, coaches, and officials from betting on competitions within their own sport, especially where they could influence outcomes. Breaches are handled through disciplinary proceedings and may result in suspensions, fines, or bans, with the aim of protecting sporting integrity rather than criminalising betting itself. While Croatia does not have a formal public system for routine information exchange between federations and betting operators, it follows international integrity standards. Betting operators must report suspicious activity to regulators and law enforcement, and sports bodies co-operate through international integrity net - works. In practice, safeguarding integrity relies on shared responsibility between public authorities, bet - ting operators, and sports organisations. Recent integrity cases also show that betting-related offences depend not only on the conduct itself, but on whether disciplinary bodies have jurisdiction over
71 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook