Turner said the positive to come out of Chris Cairns, Lou Vincent and Daryl Tuffey being named at the centre of an investigation about corruption was that the allegations did not involve games in New Zealand or current New Zealand players.
''It is very unfortunate. Am I shocked and surprised? No, I'm not surprised. One hears things going on around the place,'' Turner told the Otago Daily Times yesterday.
''The main thing from New Zealand's point of view is that it did not happen during a New Zealand series here. That does not stop the fact it might have happened overseas when New Zealand was playing.
''But these three individuals appear to involve the ICL, which is long gone.''
Cairns, Tuffey and Vincent played in the Indian Cricket League, the rebel competition in India which lasted only two years.
Turner said match-fixing had been going on for a while and even if New Zealand players were clean, it was impossible to know what was happening with opposition.
''It is unhelpful for the game. People want to believe what they see is for real. But it could have been worse, if it had involved current players and had happened here.''
He remembered covering a game in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, about 15 years ago, and some electronic equipment was sent to the room of one of the umpires, a New Zealander. The umpire sent it back, Turner said.
Players had been caught for corruption before and it would continue to happen, especially with the amount of cash floating around the game now.
''The more money just means the more opportunity. In India, bookies are illegal. That is where most of it comes from. They drive it underground.
''Human nature is just the way it is. You have a better chance of controlling it if you legalise it.''
