Economic Crimes in the Field of Physical Culture and Sports as an Urgent Problem of Modern Society

Physical culture and sports play an integral role in the life of modern society. They are the ones that help maintain a high level of public health, as well as instill important personal qualities and social interaction skills in people. Currently, there are a large number of sports disciplines and competitions of various levels that attract people to engage in recreational activities. At the same time, as the sport develops, it increasingly becomes a kind of business model. The sports business is growing every year and is becoming more corrupt. Cases of bribery, match-fixing, and illegal betting are quite common, regardless of the type and level of competition. At the same time, poor management of the sports industry makes it possible for unscrupulous people and criminal organizations to continue their illegal activities for the sake of profit. In this regard, modern sport needs proper regulation of related social relations. In particular, this is reflected in the emergence of various concepts, such as «fair play», aimed at preserving ethical values in sports. Nevertheless, due to the excessive commercialization of physical culture in our time, we are increasingly faced with crimes in the field of sports, a significant part of which is economic in nature and is related to the bribery of athletes, judges, coaches, etc. The structure of sports law, which makes it possible to prevent, among other things, economic crimes in the field of sports, is quite complex and may not always fully ensure the integrity of competitions and other events. Nevertheless, the regulation of public relations in sports at the legislative level has preventive and regulatory functions and cannot be excluded from the methods of combating economic crimes. Turning to the main ways to counter these offenses, in addition to existing laws, it is necessary to highlight cooperation on this issue with other states, the fight against illegal bookmakers, anti-corruption measures, the promotion of fair play, etc. With the help of these funds, it is possible to ensure the further development of the sports industry and attract more people to physical education and sports.