The Director General of the Moroccan Games and Sports (MDJS), Younes El Mechrafi, was re-elected member of the executive committee of ULIS (United Lotteries for Integrity in Sports) during the General Assembly of the association which took place held on June 6 in Sibenik, Croatia.
Sole representative of the African continent, Mr. El Mechrafi will sit on the executive committee for a term of 2 years alongside 7 other members representing countries in Europe, Asia and North America.
Originally, ULIS (formerly Global Lottery Monitoring System), is the global watchdog for sports betting with the mission of preserving the integrity of sport against threats related to match fixing and manipulation of all sports competitions serving as a support when taking bets.
At first, rather the work of dishonest individuals operating locally, these manipulations are increasingly the work of global organized crime.
“If it is not combated, this phenomenon can constitute a real scourge for legal sports betting operators such as the MDJS throughout the world” according to Mr. El Mechrafi.
In addition to its role as a global watchdog for sports betting, detecting suspicious bets (often indicative of rigging of sports competitions that are the subject of bets), the raison d’être of ULIS today is also to fight against illegal gambling operated by international bookmakers linked to serious global crime. These criminal networks use sports betting as a vehicle for money laundering and the financing of criminal activities. They constitute a long-term danger to the sovereignty of the States where they operate.
ULIS, formerly GLMS, was created in 2015 on the initiative of the World Lottery Association (WLA) and the Association of European Lotteries (EL).
Mr. Younes El Mechrafi was elected member of the executive committee on behalf of the MDJS as soon as the association was created as a founding member. He has been re-elected regularly since.
The renewal of Mr. El Mechrafi’s mandate is a confirmation of the international recognition enjoyed by the MDJS in terms of protecting the integrity of sport, fighting against the manipulation of sports competitions and fighting against illegal gambling.
As part of this fight led by the MDJS, Mr. El Mechrafi is also a member of the Copenhagen Group (a global grouping of national platforms fighting against the manipulation of sports competitions). He is also Vice President of the World Lottery Association, Chairman of the WLA Audit Committee and member of the Strategy Committee of the WLA Sports Betting Integrity Committee. .
Since Morocco signed the Macolin Convention, the fight against the manipulation of sports competitions and against illegal gambling operators has been at the heart of national news. As a reminder, the Macolin Convention of the Council of Europe is the only international legal instrument which commits the signatory countries to fight against the manipulation of sports competitions, and against illegal gambling sites. It was signed by Morocco in September 2021. Morocco is the only African country to sign this international legal instrument to date.
Through this re-election, the MDJS continues to play a major role in preserving the integrity of sports competitions in a context where Morocco faces, like many African countries, the dangers of illegal bets which are gateway to money laundering and terrorist financing.