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What is Pitch-Siding?

Pitch-Siding:

During a match in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) Anti-Corruption Unit nabbed two individuals for allegedly pitch-siding or court-siding.

  • Pitch or court-siding is having somebody inside a sports venue and passing on immediate match-related updates to a bookie, who can use that information to change the odds and accept or reject bets.
  • The few seconds of lag it takes to be aired on television gives them the window of opportunity.
  • Though pitch-siding doesn’t necessarily count as ‘match fixing’ as none of the action is rigged, it is a side-effect of competitive betting that sports organizers have been aiming to quell.
  • It is illegal not in all countries.
  • Court-siding is not illegal in the UK, nor in New Zealand.
  • However, tickets to most sporting events have it mentioned that it is illegal in the ‘terms and conditions section.
  • Therefore, an individual caught has breached a condition of entry at the venue and can be evicted and banned.
  • In India, betting is banned, therefore, any act of pitch-siding would be considered illegal.