London, Jan 2 : The UK police will set up a special unit to crack down on betting syndicates, particularly in the Indian sub-continent and in the Far East, planning to influence the outcome of this year's London Olympics.

Olympics Minister Hugh Robertson said games fixing has now overtaken doping as the biggest threat to the reputation of the London games.

"You cannot underestimate the threat this poses because the moment that spectators start to feel that what they are seeing is not a true contest, that is when spectators stop turning up and the whole thing turns to pieces," The Daily Mail quoted Robertson, as saying.

"At some stage over the next two or three years, we will have some other sort of betting scandal in some sport. I just hope it''s not at the Olympics," he added.

Robertson said betting authorities in the West were `well set up' to spot illegal betting activities, and also criticised regulation in the Far East and Indian sub-continent.

"If you look at the most high-profile incident - the Pakistani cricketers [caught spot fixing] at Lord''s, the issue is not of betting syndicates in this part of the world - it is illegal betting syndicates in the Indian sub-continent and elsewhere, where huge sums of money change hands," he said.

According to the paper, the special unit will be headed by the Metropolitan Police and will work with the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and Interpol to track suspicious gambling activity abroad. (ANI)