Could conditional retirement funds restore trust following the Tandy match-fixing case in rugby league?

While ‘cheating to win’ (doping) and ‘cheating to lose’ (match-fixing) involve very different behaviours, this chapter will analyse the extent to which a possible new incentive-based strategy, conditional retirement funds, may assist to reduce the risk of match-fixing, and address financial vulnerabilities that make some athletes more susceptible to untoward influences.  Athletes are vulnerable for a range of reasons, including addictions, secrets, poverty and greed.  For some athletes, who do not currently participate in a retirement or superannuation scheme, this policy can be framed as a post-retirement bonus, to highlight the incentives not to engage in match-fixing. For athlete employees, however, this can be seen as an additional punitive measure, as is legislated for public servants and other persons in positions of trust, such as Australian Federal Police Officers.  This policy also allows building in a retrospective component to penalties by confiscating earlier (ill-gotten) earnings. For those not already having superannuation payments included in their packages, it could be negotiated as an additional payment to assist in alleviating future financial stress often experienced by retired (untainted) professional sportspeople. It is hoped that this novel solution, conditional superannuation, might become another tool to assist in restoring trust.