That is the only way to read the Asian Racing Federation anti-illegal betting taskforce’s paper, which highlights the consequences of the scourge.

While there are associated social costs – in terms of lost revenue and the human expense – the real message is that illegal gambling compromises the integrity of sports themselves.

The numbers the report throws up are enormous, and in all likelihood the actual figures are even bigger, but the real issue strikes at the heart of the purity of competition.

“In every jurisdiction examined in this White Paper, sporting corruption from illegal betting was found,” the report states.

“Illegal betting is more attractive than legal to fixers because it generally offers far more markets and sporting events and accepts much larger wagers without asking questions.

“Illegal operators do not follow sporting integrity best practices such as alerting authorities to suspicious betting or sharing data with law enforcement.

“Illegal betting-related match-fixing is a threat in every jurisdiction at every level.”

Integrity is paramount for any gambling product. If punters don’t think it is a fair contest, they won’t bet.

It is why the Hong Kong Jockey Club spends millions and millions of dollars ensuring every piece of trackwork is recorded, veterinary issues are made public and stewards are empowered to uphold the rules of racing.

It is about building faith with your customers, ensuring they can bet (legally) with confidence.

By providing plenty of prize money and the ability to earn a large wage, it (in theory) reduces the urge of participants to stray.

Because that is the other side of the equation – those seduced into throwing a race, or a game or conceding a goal to manipulate a result.

As the report states, it is common sense that athletes who are not well-paid are “vulnerable to fixers”, and when turnover far exceeds prize money it gives “those involved an obvious incentive for corruption”.

While there are plenty of stories from the old days about jockeys rigging races, the reality today is it is much harder. Races in Hong Kong are highly scrutinised, mobile phones can be impounded and banking transactions obtained.

While the Nash Rawiller disqualification last year got plenty of attention – he received gifts or money for tipping his own horses – there was no concern about him trying to achieve the best result.

The last time there was a big integrity issue in Hong Kong racing surrounded jockey Howard Cheng Yue-tin in late 2016, when he was first suspended for not taking “all reasonable and permissible measures” to achieve the best result in a race and subsequently refused to provide his financial statements to stewards after they found incriminating text messages.

Stewards said Cheng’s refusal to comply with the directive “compromised the ability of the stewards to conduct the inquiry, which therefore directly impacted on the integrity of the sport of horse racing”.

Cheng was never found guilty of any race-fixing charges; he was banned for passing on information to people he wasn’t supposed to, and when he declined to provide information the stewards required, he lost his licence and his career was ended.

It is those riders on the fringes who are more susceptible to approaches about stopping a horse for financial gain.

For jockeys at the top like Zac Purton and Joao Moreira, there is far too much to lose. Risking your reputation, career and millions of dollars of future earnings to chase a quick buck is just not smart.

But while the Jockey Club needs to remain vigilant, it is the sports without solid integrity infrastructures in place that are most vulnerable.

The report highlights the case of former Hong Kong footballer of the year Lee Wai-lim, who accepted HK$20,000 to direct his players to fix a match in the Hong Kong Reserve League in 2016. It is a reminder that illegal bookmakers will bet on obscure markets virtually anywhere.

But it doesn’t stop there, the report also focuses on a South Korean e-sports professional who fixed a match for just US$4,000 in 2017.

And remember, these are just some of the people who have been caught, many more would have got away with it.

It is a sad reality, but this document is a stern reminder that virtually every sport can be infiltrated by illegal gambling.

No one is immune, but some are in a position to fight it better than others.

This article is a reprint from SCMP.com.   To view the original story and comment, click here.