Comparison of the opinions of citizens and professional soccer players about betting and match fixing

The aim of this study is to compare the impacts of match fixing on citizens who play the betting game İddaa and professional soccer players. More specifically, how match fixing related to betting is affecting social morality. Sports is a part of social morality and one of the sub-aims of this study is to evaluate the chaotic interactions that emerge from the mixing of the sports and betting, and the betting and match fixing. Survey methodology was used. The research universe consisted of betting game players and professional footballers in Turkey. Betters playing the İddaa betting game in İddaa dealers located in the cities of 2010-2011 Turkish Super League soccer teams and professional soccer players were considered as the target audience. A total of 1637 İddaa betting citizens and 115 professional soccer players took part in the survey. In the questionnaire with 26 questions, four questions are intended to examine the biographical features, four are intended to examine the characteristics of playing the İddaa game, and the remaining 18 are intended to examine the effects on social morality. The questions were asked to the people who played İddaa game without any biographical distinction. As a result, both betters and soccer players agree that match fixing in soccer quickly directed “those who want to make easy money” towards the betting industry. While citizens were indecisive about the opinion “professional soccer players are extremely uncomfortable with match fixing”, soccer players agreed with it. The difference on this opinion between citizens and soccer players is statistically significant.