ITIA Imposes $10,000 Fine on Mark Philippoussis for Breaching Betting Sponsorship Rules

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has imposed a fine of $10,000 and a ban of four months on Australian tennis coach and former tennis player Mark Philippoussis for breaching tennis’ betting sponsorship rules.

Philippoussis was subjected to the sanction after receiving payment for providing a voiceover for promotional content for a gaming operator. He did not challenge the charge leveled against him and cooperated with the Agency’s investigation.

Under Section D.1.b of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP) rules, covered persons are prohibited from facilitating, encouraging and/or promoting tennis betting, either directly or indirectly. And Section B.10 defines covered persons as any player, related person, or tournament support personnel. Hence, as an accredited coach, Philippoussis is a covered person as per the TACP rules and is obligated to comply with the sport’s rules around relationships with betting operators.

In the news release dated July 26, 2023, it was clarified that the suspension would come into force only upon a subsequent breach of the TACP during the four-month period, beginning on July 21, 2023.

The ITIA CEO, Karen Moorhouse, stated that as a sport, “tennis has decided that accredited individuals should not have commercial relationships with betting companies given their potential ability to influence matches, access to inside information, and therefore the perception of such relationships”.