According to the legal definition, competition manipulation or match-fixing is “an intentional arrangement, act or omission aimed at an improper alteration of the result or the course of a sports competition in order to remove all or part of the unpredictable nature of the sports competition with a view to obtaining an undue benefit for oneself or for others.”(Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions, 2014).

Match fixing is when the result of a tournament or competition is partially or completely decided in advance and the match is played to ensure the pre-determined outcome. This is against the rules of the game and often the law. The most common reason for match-fixing is to obtain a payoff from gamblers, but teams may also intentionally perform poorly to gain a future advantage, such as a better draft pick or, on paper, a less eminent opponent in a play-off.

Competition manipulation occurs when a participant in a sports competition (for example an athlete, a coach, a judge or referee, etc.) knowingly underperforms or deliberately makes bad or wrong decisions affecting the result or course of a competition, in order to obtain an undue benefit (usually a sporting or financial benefit).