The Convention aims to prevent, detect and fight match-fixing and the manipulation of sport competitions.

It calls on Governments to launch measures to prevent conflicts of interest among sports betting operators and sports organisations, as well as to encourage sports betting regulatory authorities to step up the fight against fraud and illegal betting.

The Convention was declared open for signature at a meeting of the Council of Europe conference of Sport Ministers in Macolin.

It is the first step towards its entry into force.

For this to happen, the Convention will need to be ratified by five parties, of which at least three must be Member States of the Council of Europe.

All parties involved in the drafting of the Convention will be able to sign it.

"This convention is a major step forward for integrity, ethics and transparency in sport," said Council of Europe secretary general Thorbjørn Jagland, who called on all Governments to sign and ratify it speedily.

Fifteen countries have signed up today: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Lithuania, Montenegro, The Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Serbia and Switzerland.

Commenting on the Convention, European Commissioner Responsible for Sport, Androulla Vassiliou, said: "Match-fixing is a cross-border problem and action at European level is essential if we are to combat this scourge.

"We need to ensure that everyone involved in the fight against the fraudsters works together as a team.

"This Convention will help to increase cooperation between the sport movement, betting operators, law enforcement authorities, governments and the European institutions.

"It's a fight we have to win."

Earlier this year, the European Union launched its Erasmus+ programme for education, training, youth and sport, part of which also focusses on addressing cross-border threats such as match-fixing and doping.

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