Detectives expect to lay more charges over a 10-month investigation into "systemic" fixing of harness races in Queensland.
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Police believe a "loose cartel" of drivers and trainers has been meeting regularly to decide driving tactics and race outcomes.
Queensland Racing Integrity Commissioner Ross Barnett said the race fixing was not occurring at every race meeting but was "more frequent than it is rare".
A 46-year-old Warwick man was arrested on Thursday and charged with the first ever count of match fixing in Queensland's racing industry, after police raided five properties across the south-east.
He faces a maximum of 10 years behind bars.
The allegation stemmed from one particular race but both QPS Drug and Serious Crime Group Detective Superintendent Jon Wacker and Mr Barnett said the problem was more widespread and more arrests were likely.
"There is what I'll call a loose cartel of drivers and trainers who are involved in systemic race fixing," Mr Barnett said.
"How that occurs depends from race to race.
"They will get together and decide on driving tactics or who will win the race, how they will win it."
He said the discussions and outcomes changed from race to race and meeting to meeting, with the goal of guaranteeing either betting wins or prize money.
"We are talking about more than one race," he said.
"It's not every race, not even every race meeting, but on the continuum of activity I'd have to say it's more frequent than it is rare."
There was no suggestion any stewards were involved in the race fixing nor did there appear to be any links to "more traditional" organised crime groups, he said.
Mr Barnett said recent suspensions of regulatory staff and drivers were unrelated.
The racing commissioner acknowledged any future convictions would be likely to have a "short-term" negative impact on the industry but said it would be better off in the long run.
"If there are short-term consequences it's important to reflect on where the blame for that will lay," he said.
"It won't lay on people who reported it to the stewards, who started this investigation. It won't lay on the police who ??? investigated it.
"It won't lay with the judiciary, who sentenced these people.
"It will lay solely at the feet of the greedy and corrupt people who are involved in match fixing. They're the people who will have damaged the sport that they profess to love."
The Queensland Racing Crime Squad, Queensland Racing Integrity Commission and Crime and Corruption Commission were all involved in the 10-month, ongoing investigation, which kicked off shortly after the QRIC was formed last July, in the wake of the greyhound live baiting scandal.
Mr Barnett said it was up to members of the industry and the media to decide whether the harness racing allegations were at a similar scale to that scandal.
"I think all the good people in the industry want to see the industry completely clean and for everyone to participate on a level playing field and so do we," he said.
"This is not about taking any power away from the stewards this is a supplementary power. What we're talking about is serious organised criminal activity."
