Anti-illegal betting council strengthens taskforce with addition of three expert members

An international council that tackles illegal gambling has expanded its membership by three, taking the expert group’s cohort to almost 30.

The International Federation of Racing Authorities’ (IFHA) has welcomed US racing executive J Curtis Linnell and UK barrister Louis Weston to the organisation’s Council On Anti-Illegal Betting and Related Crime.

Vincent Ven, a Swiss and Hong Kong sports lawyer with strong ties to international soccer including with FIFA, has also been appointed to the anti-illegal gambling council.

“The three new members expand further the intellectual capacity of the council,” IFHA council chair Martin Purbrick said.  

“All three are global leaders in racing and sports integrity and will contribute significantly to the evolving work of the IFHA Council to protect racing and other sports from illegal betting.”

The trio joins the council whose members include Australian racing industry figures, the Queensland Racing Integrity Commission’s Kim Kelly, Racing NSW’s Pete Sweney and Racing Victoria’s Brent Fisher.

Eliot Forbes, chief of New Zealand’s Racing Integrity Board, and expatriate Australian Brant Dunshea, who is chief executive of the British Horseracing Authority, also sit on the council.

Sydney University gambling researcher Sally Gainsbury and former Racing NSW chief steward Marc Van Gestel, who is now a steward with the Hong Kong Jockey Club, are also members.

The thinktank anti-illegal gambling council, established in October 2024, succeeded the Asian Racing Federation’s anti-illegal betting council, broadening its scope from a regional focus to worldwide issues.

The council brings together representatives from racing and sports integrity bodies, law enforcement agencies, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and academia.

It says its role is to strengthen international co-operation between racing operators, regulators, governments, intergovernmental organisations and non-government organisations to address illegal betting, financial crime and other threats to the integrity of horse racing and sport.