IOC Revisits Illegal Gambling; Nuzman Wins Support for Re-Election

IOC Gambling Group

The IOC working group on tackling illegal gambling in sports endorses several measures to stop improper gambling in sport.

Following Thursday’s meeting, the Working Group on Irregular and Illegal Betting in Sport endorsed proposals to help promote education, information sharing and enforcing legislation.

In addition, the IOC group urged greater cooperation to help tackle illegal betting by having stakeholders work together with groups like the U.N., Interpol and others.

Some of the attendees for the meeting included IOC president Jacques Rogge, Wilfried Lemke, the U.N.’s top sport official, British sports minister Hugh Robertson and other high-ranking officials from sport, government and gambling agencies.

Nuzman Wins Support for Re-Election

Brazilian Olympic Committee President Carlos Nuzman takes a big step towards his sixth term in office. At a meeting of the committee this week, 24 national federations declared their support for Nuzman’s reelection. Since then, three more federations not at the meeting have endorsed Nuzman for a new term. He became COB president in 1995.

The election will be held sometime between October and December.

Nuzman turns 70 this year, a milestone that will force him to retire as an IOC member.

Nuzman is also president of Rio 2016, the organizing committee for the Olympic Games.

Dow Chemical Posts Fourth Quarter Loss

Olympic sponsor Dow Chemical reported a $20 million loss for the fourth quarter.

The company posted a net loss of $20 million, or 2 cents per share, compared with the net income of $426 million, or 37 cents per share, a year ago.

Dow’s operating rate was 72 percent for the quarter, which is down 9 percent. The change reflects weak demand and customer destocking, particularly in Western Europe.

Decreases in volume in Western Europe and the U.S. were offset by growth in emerging economies, which grew by 7 percent. China led volume growth with a 12 percent increase.

"We derived strong benefit from our geographic footprint – delivering broad-based top-line gains and achieving record sales for both the quarter and the year in emerging regions, balancing considerable weakness in Western Europe," said Dow chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris.

Survey: Spain Overwhelmingly Supports Madrid Bid

New survey results indicate that the majority of Spain supports Madrid 2020.

According to a study by Mediapost and released by Madrid 2020, 84 percent of the population backs the Olympic bid, while 90 percent believe it would mean an increase in employment.

About half believe that winning the bid would mark the beginning of economic recovery in Spain’s capital.

The survey also shows that 63.5 percent of citizens knew about the project. Also, young people are the least informed but the most enthusiastic about the bid, according to the data.

Hotel Boom in Baku

Baku 2020 says its bid for the Olympics is boosted by the growth of the luxury hotels in the region.

In 2011, a number of five-star hotels have opened up and three more will open in the city this year.

Baku is bidding against Rome, Madrid, Istanbul, Tokyo and Doha for the Olympics in 2020 and its CEO Konul Nurullayeva says the bid is part of a larger effort to transform the capital of Azerbaijan.

"Our Olympic Bid is part of a wider process of transforming Baku into a world-class destination, with first-class business, technology and sports facilities, as well as hotels, museums and art collections, universities and all the infrastructure that comes with them," she said.

Russia Must Host More Skiing

Russian Olympic Committee president Alexander Zhukov says Russia must host more skiing events ahead of Sochi 2014.

"Our country is a skiing country, so it’s very important for our fans to organize festivals like this one," Zhukov was quoted by state news agency RIA Novosti.

"This seasonis coming together well for us. Our most important goal is to prepare well for Sochi," he added.

"We’ve set a good pace, so we will now hope for better. If something needs assistance, then the Olympic Committee, together with the federations, is prepared to provide any assistance.

Sochi Test Event Date Change

Russian skating officials have moved the date of the Sochi speedskating test event by a week, allowing skaters more time to recuperate from a World Cup event.

The 2013 World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships will now take place March 21 to 24.

"It was done for the comfort of the athletes because earlier the time span between the round of the World Cup and the World Championships was too small," Alexey Kravtsov, head of the Russian Speed Skating Union, was quoted by RIA Novosti. "The athletes simply have to have a break to rest."

Media Watch

In an editorial for The Financial Times, Michael Skapinker says Dow is not the villain its critics make it out to be in the ongoing Bhopal controversy.

The Associated Press reports on the growing concerns about Rio de Janeiro’s infrastructure in the lead-up to the 2016 Olympics and 2014 World Cup.

Written by Ann Cantrell.

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