The Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) made a courtesy call to the Games and Amusements Board (GAB) Chairman Atty. Francisco Rivera at the GAB Central Office, to discuss regulatory concerns and collaborative measures to address game fixing and safeguard the integrity of professional basketball.
Among the measures taken into consideration were enhanced league-level sanctions, cross-league recognition of penalties to prevent sanctioned individuals from transferring between leagues, and the possible engagement of integrity service providers to detect suspicious game activity through data-driven monitoring.
“The long-term interest of the league is integrity.”
“The long-term interest of the league is integrity,” Rivera said.
The GAB chief also reported the Agency’s ongoing efforts to strengthen regulatory frameworks against game manipulation, consistent with recommendations from international basketball stakeholders.
“If fans no longer believe in the outcome of games, the sport itself
“If fans no longer believe in the outcome of games, the sport itself suffers. With this, we hope that the MPBL can help us in curbing game-fixing in Philippine sports,” he added.
In closing, both parties committed to upholding fair play, protecting players’ rights, and maintaining public trust in the sport, underscoring the importance of sustained cooperation between regulators and leagues in advancing these objectives.
