sport news Bookmakers stop taking bets on World Cup man-of-the-match award as scammers ... trends now
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Leading bookmakers have stopped taking bets on the winner of the man of the match award at the World Cup amid fears of a fixing scam that could cost them millions.
The award is decided by a public vote on FIFA's website, so is open to manipulation, and Sportsmail has uncovered evidence of social media tipsters urging their tens of thousands of followers to vote for players they have placed a bet on.
The man of the match market doubled in value last week with FIFA doing nothing to stop such interference.
Leading bookmakers have stopped taking bets on man of the match awards amid fixing fears
Some of the tipsters have also been encouraging punters to break FIFA's rules, which impose a one-vote-per-person limit, by producing a video tutorial showing how to register multiple votes. The tipping accounts are largely run by professional gamblers purporting to offer advice to casual gamblers, but also seeking to influence betting markets to make money for themselves.
This apparent market manipulation produced a spate of unexpected man of the match winners, such as Wales captain Gareth Bale against USA and then Kevin De Bruyne, who said after Belgium's 1-0 win over Canada: 'I don't think I played a great game and don't know why I got the (award). Maybe it's because of my name.'
Sportsmail has learned that as a result of these big-name wins the volume of betting on award
