SPORTS BETTING
Spain – Spain has the most alerts on suspicious betting activety
By Phil - 4 May 2023
The International Betting Integrity Association’s (IBIA) latest quarterly Integrity Report reported 40 incidents of suspicious betting activity identified by its members, who represent nearly 50 per cent of all commercial online betting globally and over US$137bn in sports betting turnover. IBIA’s Q1 report also highlights the importance of establishing effective integrity solutions across Latin America, particularly in Brazil, and the significant role that IBIA’s regulated operators play in identifying and deterring potential manipulation.
The 40 incidents of suspicious betting in Q1 concerned nine sports across 22 countries and five continents. Football had the highest number of reported alerts globally. The 15 football alerts represent 38 per cent of all alerts in Q1. The 12 tennis alerts reported in Q1 2023 represent a more than 50 per cent decrease when compared to the average quarterly figure in 2022.
Spain is the country with the highest number of Q1 alerts. The 8 alerts on sporting events in Spain equals the total number of alerts on Spanish events for the whole of 2022.
Khalid Ali, IBIA CEO, said: “IBIA’s monitoring and alert network provides the most comprehensive, robust and detailed intelligence on suspicious betting activity globally. It utilizes detailed customer-account data that is only available to IBIA and its members and covers nearly 50% of all regulated commercial online betting. By harnessing those collective resources, we are able deploy a protective shield around IBIA operators, resulting in fewer attempts to corrupt our members compared to non-members.”
The Q1 Integrity Report also contains a targeted analysis of alerts in the Latin American market, with 105 suspicious alerts across the region during 2018-22. Brazil was the main source of alerts (31 per cent), followed by the Dominican Republic and Mexico (10 per cent), and Argentina and Peru (nine per cent). Unsurprisingly, considering its importance in Brazil, football accounted for 63 per cent of alerts, followed by tennis (21 per cent). In total, there were 33 suspicious alerts raise by IBIA members in Brazil during this five-year period.
Mr. Ali added: “A well-regulated sports betting market is essential to the fight against sports betting related match-fixing. All relevant stakeholders – betting operators, policymakers, regulators, and sports – have an important role to play to ensure that Brazil enjoys the full benefits of a dynamic and competitive regulated sports betting market, whilst reducing the risks of match-fixing.”
According to H2 Gambling Capital, the leading independent authority on global gambling market data, the Brazilian sports betting market grew by 44.4 per cent from 2021 to 2022 reaching BRL4,506m (US$940m) in gross gambling revenue (GGR), and is projected to reach BRL9,265m (US$1,860m) in GGR by 2027 (105 per cent increase).
