Originally Posted by
Sheridan
Mostly scoreline bets, they can pay big without being too outlandish. That's what all the bent games in the Intertoto have used in recent years. Generally it's very hard to fix a game without almost everyone involved being in on it (i.e., officials at both clubs and almost all the players.) Of course, as with any conspiracy, the chances of discovery increase exponentially with every conspirator added. The key is using a (far, far) overseas bookmaker if possible and spreading the bets around to avoid detection.
Of course, games are routinely fixed in some countries, but not in the traditional sense. In Romania until very recently, the top clubs organised a cartel whereby they'd swap draws against one another. Similar things happen in Italy towards the end of the season. It's not usually a gambling venture, though.