UK Law and Practice Contributed by: Jamie Singer and Flora Peel, Onside Law
committee permitted an extension of this com - ing into effect until January 2024. Doping is not a criminal offence in the UK. How - ever, certain substances that appear on the pro - hibited lists are criminalised, such as cocaine. The latest 2025 WADA Prohibited List included updates to permit the donation of blood and blood components, including by apheresis, if performed in an accredited collection centre. Additionally, beta blockers are no longer prohib - ited in any skiing or snowboarding disciplines. 1.2 Integrity Integrity Integrity is a broad concept within UK sport. Anti-doping and anti-corruption issues (such as match-fixing) are high-profile but the concept also captures governance (see 4.2 Corporate Governance ), safeguarding, athlete welfare, disciplinary issues and social media. Match-Fixing Sports governing bodies should now be proac - tive in dealing with their integrity issues. To take match-fixing as an example, it is expected: • for sports to implement specific anti-cor - ruption regulations which participants are contractually committed to abide by; • for such regulations to deal with the inves - tigation and prosecution of alleged match- fixing offences by a dedicated body; • that an independent judge will ultimately decide whether an offence was committed and award the appropriate sanction (lifetime bans in serious cases); • for there to be close collaboration between betting operators through memorandums of understanding to ensure relevant data is shared that might evidence fixing; and
• that there will be incorporation (where appli - cable) of global codes such as the Macolin Convention (signed by the UK in 2018 but not yet ratified) and the Olympic Movement Code on the Prevention of the Manipulation of Competitions. Depending on the specific facts, integrity rule infringements can also constitute criminal offences, such as fraud, as was the case when a number of Pakistani cricket players were given prison sentences ranging from six to 32 months for spot-fixing during a test match played in England in 2010. In such circumstances, sports governing bodies need to liaise with the criminal authorities to ensure neither set of proceedings is prejudiced. Applicable Law Certain integrity offences are captured under UK law such as the Fraud Act 2006, the Bribery Act 2010, the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, and the Criminal Law Act 1977. However, prosecution relies on law enforcement having the resources and interest to investigate and this is not always the case, particularly if there is an international element. 1.3 Betting Sports Governing Bodies While betting is not illegal, sports governing bod - ies in the UK are mindful of the potential conflicts of interest if a participant is known to be betting on their own sport. This raises suspicion that the participant has some kind of inside information regarding the outcome of the event in question or, worse, could influence a result. Whether or not this is the case, sports governing bodies wish to avoid any suggestion of a lack of integrity in their sport. As a result, sports regula - tions will often prohibit participants from betting
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