French Open in bid to stop online gambling

French Open tennis organizers launched a court action on Friday in a bid to ban online gambling companies from offering bets on their grand slam tournament.

The complaint filed in courts in Liege in eastern Belgium and in Paris claims that Internet betting companies stain the reputation of the clay-court championship at Roland Garros.

"There is urgency to act because sporting ethic is at risk," Jean-Francois Vilotte, director general of the French tennis federation, told The Associated Press. "It is an issue as important as the fight against doping."

The issue of integrity in tennis came to the fore in August, when an online betting site -- Betfair -- voided all wagers on a match in Poland between fifth-ranked Nikolay Davydenko and 87th-ranked Martin Vassallo Arguello because of irregular betting patterns.

Davydenko withdrew from the match in the third set, citing a foot injury.

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/SPORT/02/01/french.gambling.ap/index.html