{"id":96292,"date":"2019-01-17T04:17:49","date_gmt":"2019-01-17T12:17:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=96292"},"modified":"2019-01-17T04:44:40","modified_gmt":"2019-01-17T12:44:40","slug":"match-fixing-maestro-arrested-as-police-break-up-massive-tennis-corruption-op","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/match-fixing-maestro-arrested-as-police-break-up-massive-tennis-corruption-op\/","title":{"rendered":"Match-Fixing &#8216;Maestro&#8217; Arrested as Police Break Up Massive Tennis Corruption Op"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Police in Europe believe they have arrested the \u201cMr. Big\u201d of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/tennis-authorities-vow-to-deal-with-corruption-issues-after-review\">tennis match-fixing. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"767\" src=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/racket-1024x767.png\" alt=\"Match-fixing\" data-id=\"96293\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?attachment_id=96293\" class=\"wp-image-96293\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/racket-1024x767.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/racket-142x106.png 142w, https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/racket-768x575.png 768w, https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/racket-147x110.png 147w, https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/racket-400x300.png 400w, https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/racket.png 1069w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Police suspect &#8216;The Maestro&#8217; paid over 100 players between $570 and $3,400 to throw hundreds of matches in tennis\u2019 lower echelons. (Image: Pintrest)  <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The Associated Press<\/em> reports that a man known to tennis players \u201cthe Maestro\u201d is suspected of fronting a massive match-fixing operation that targeted low-level professional tournaments and convinced over 100 players to throw \u201chundreds\u201d of matches for money. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Maestro is Grigor Sargsyan, 28, a Belgium-based Armenian who is currently held in a Belgian jail. Sources told the <em>Associated Press<\/em> under condition of anonymity that four French players are also currently in police custody &#8212; Jules Okala, 21; Mick Lescure, 25; Yannick Thivant, 31; and Jerome Inzerillo, 28 &#8212; one of whom has admitted to throwing around two dozen matches for Sargsyan, the sources said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\u2018Tsunami of\nCorruption\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>That tennis has a match-fixing problem is nothing new. A report by the Independent Review Panel of the Tennis Integrity Unit published last year found that the sport had been \u201cengulfed by a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/tennis-engulfed-by-tsunami-of-corruption-says-20-million-independent-review\">tsunami of corruption<\/a>\u201d at the lower levels of the game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The panel said that poor prize money available to players lower down in the pecking order make them vulnerable to match-fixers, noting that many in the Futures circuits are barely able to break even, and that&#8217;s before accounting and coaching costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>The International Tennis Federation estimates that of 14,000 players trying to make a living from the sport, half do not make any money at all. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Okala and Lescure were reportedly arrested earlier this week as they were about to begin a tournament in Bressuire, France, that offered a total of just $15,000 in prize money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The panel recommended a ban on live streaming and live scoring feeds at the lowest tier of professional tennis, which would prevent bookmakers offering markets on the games. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>15 Arrested in\nSpain<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Police say Sargsyan\u2019s operations were organized via encrypted messaging and that players were paid between $570 and $3,400 to throw matches. The Armenian employed hundreds of mules, hired for peanuts, to place bets on games. The stakes were always small to avoid detection, but profits were big due to the sheer volume of bets being placed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The news comes just one week after Spanish police\narrested 15 people with links to an Armenian criminal gang on suspicion of\nmatch-fixing, among them the Spanish tennis player Marc Fornell-Mestres. Authorities\nsaid in all 28 players from the ITF Futures and Challengers Tours had been implicated.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>French and Spanish police are working together to\nascertain whether the cases are linked. &nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Police in Europe believe they have arrested the \u201cMr. Big\u201d of tennis match-fixing. The Associated Press reports that a man known to tennis players \u201cthe Maestro\u201d is suspected of fronting a massive match-fixing operation that targeted low-level professional tournaments and convinced over 100 players to throw \u201chundreds\u201d of matches for money. The Maestro is Grigor [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":96293,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,16,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Match-Fixing &#039;Maestro&#039; Arrested as Police Break Up Massive Tennis Corruption Op<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Match-fixing Maestro Grigor Sargsyan presided over a massive match-fixing operations suspected of fixing hundreds of tennis games, according to police in Europe.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Match-Fixing &#039;Maestro&#039; Arrested as Police Break Up Massive Tennis Corruption Op\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Match-fixing Maestro Grigor Sargsyan presided over a massive match-fixing operations suspected of fixing hundreds of tennis games, according to police in Europe.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/match-fixing-maestro-arrested-as-police-break-up-massive-tennis-corruption-op\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-01-17T12:17:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-01-17T12:44:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/racket.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1069\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"801\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/match-fixing-maestro-arrested-as-police-break-up-massive-tennis-corruption-op\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/match-fixing-maestro-arrested-as-police-break-up-massive-tennis-corruption-op\/\",\"name\":\"Match-Fixing 'Maestro' Arrested as Police Break Up Massive Tennis Corruption Op\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/match-fixing-maestro-arrested-as-police-break-up-massive-tennis-corruption-op\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/match-fixing-maestro-arrested-as-police-break-up-massive-tennis-corruption-op\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/racket.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-01-17T12:17:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-01-17T12:44:40+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Match-fixing Maestro Grigor Sargsyan presided over a massive match-fixing operations suspected of fixing hundreds of tennis games, according to police in Europe.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/match-fixing-maestro-arrested-as-police-break-up-massive-tennis-corruption-op\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/match-fixing-maestro-arrested-as-police-break-up-massive-tennis-corruption-op\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/match-fixing-maestro-arrested-as-police-break-up-massive-tennis-corruption-op\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/racket.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/racket.png\",\"width\":1069,\"height\":801,\"caption\":\"Police suspect The Maestro paid over 100 players between $570 and $3,400 to throw hundreds of matches in tennis\u2019 lower echelons. 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He currently focuses his coverage on gaming law, white-collar crime, global money laundering, tribal gaming, politics, and regulation. Philip was the original features editor for poker\u2019s Bluff Magazine and editor for Bluff Europe, which he helped launch. His writing has also been featured in ESPN, Forbes, Time Out, The Sun, and The Daily Star, as well as iGaming Business, eGaming Review, and numerous other industry news and tech websites. His news stories for Casino.org\/news have been linked by The Washington Post, The Daily Mail, People Magazine, and Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show, among many others. Philip once won $20,000 with 7-2 off-suit. He has been reprimanded for unwittingly playing Elton John\u2019s piano on two separate occasions on both sides of the Atlantic. He became a writer because he is a lousy pianist. Philip lives outside London with his wife and children, where he spends his time agonizing about Arsenal FC. Contact Philip at philip.conneller@casino.org.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/muckrack.com\/philip-conneller\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/philip-conneller-1495a48\/?originalSubdomain=uk\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/casinoorgphilc\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/phillip-conneller\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Match-Fixing 'Maestro' Arrested as Police Break Up Massive Tennis Corruption Op","description":"Match-fixing Maestro Grigor Sargsyan presided over a massive match-fixing operations suspected of fixing hundreds of tennis games, according to police in Europe.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Match-Fixing 'Maestro' Arrested as Police Break Up Massive Tennis Corruption Op","og_description":"Match-fixing Maestro Grigor Sargsyan presided over a massive match-fixing operations suspected of fixing hundreds of tennis games, according to police in Europe.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/match-fixing-maestro-arrested-as-police-break-up-massive-tennis-corruption-op\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2019-01-17T12:17:49+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-01-17T12:44:40+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1069,"height":801,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/racket.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Philip Conneller","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@casinoorgphilc","twitter_site":"@Casino_Org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Philip Conneller","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/match-fixing-maestro-arrested-as-police-break-up-massive-tennis-corruption-op\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/match-fixing-maestro-arrested-as-police-break-up-massive-tennis-corruption-op\/","name":"Match-Fixing 'Maestro' Arrested as Police Break Up Massive Tennis Corruption Op","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/match-fixing-maestro-arrested-as-police-break-up-massive-tennis-corruption-op\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/match-fixing-maestro-arrested-as-police-break-up-massive-tennis-corruption-op\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/racket.png","datePublished":"2019-01-17T12:17:49+00:00","dateModified":"2019-01-17T12:44:40+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b"},"description":"Match-fixing Maestro Grigor Sargsyan presided over a massive match-fixing operations suspected of fixing hundreds of tennis games, according to police in Europe.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/match-fixing-maestro-arrested-as-police-break-up-massive-tennis-corruption-op\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/match-fixing-maestro-arrested-as-police-break-up-massive-tennis-corruption-op\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/match-fixing-maestro-arrested-as-police-break-up-massive-tennis-corruption-op\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/racket.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/racket.png","width":1069,"height":801,"caption":"Police suspect The Maestro paid over 100 players between $570 and $3,400 to throw hundreds of matches in tennis\u2019 lower echelons. 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He currently focuses his coverage on gaming law, white-collar crime, global money laundering, tribal gaming, politics, and regulation. Philip was the original features editor for poker\u2019s Bluff Magazine and editor for Bluff Europe, which he helped launch. His writing has also been featured in ESPN, Forbes, Time Out, The Sun, and The Daily Star, as well as iGaming Business, eGaming Review, and numerous other industry news and tech websites. His news stories for Casino.org\/news have been linked by The Washington Post, The Daily Mail, People Magazine, and Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show, among many others. Philip once won $20,000 with 7-2 off-suit. He has been reprimanded for unwittingly playing Elton John\u2019s piano on two separate occasions on both sides of the Atlantic. He became a writer because he is a lousy pianist. Philip lives outside London with his wife and children, where he spends his time agonizing about Arsenal FC. 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