Players are the "oxygen" of the match-fixer increasingly threatening the game of football, the Malta Football Association's integrity officer.
"Without the players, there will be no match-fixer, no criminal and nobody will be successful in reaping their dividends," Franz Tabone says.
Interviewed for Times Talk, Mr Tabone says betting is only part of a problem which is plaguing football.
As the football season kicks off, Mr Tabone also speaks about the investigations which go behind the scenes in a complicated web of crime.
The full edition of Times Talk will be uploaded tomorrow.