IBIA: critical need for integrity solutions in Latin American betting
The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) has released its Integrity Report for Q1.
Belgium.- The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) Q1 integrity report has highlighted a critical need for integrity solutions in Latin America as Brazil prepares to introduce regulated sports betting. It stresses the role IBIA member operators can play in detecting and deterring manipulation in sports.
The Q1 report recorded 40 cases of suspicious betting activity internationally. These involved nine sports in 22 countries. Football accounted for the highest number of reported alerts globally at 15 – 38 per cent of all alerts in the quarter. Tennis generated 12 alerts, half the quarterly average of last year. In terms of countries, Spain produced the highest number of alerts (eight, equal to the total alerts on Spanish events in all of 2022).
Focus on Latin American sports betting integrity
The Q1 report also includes a targeted analysis of alerts pertaining to the Latin American market. There were 105 suspicious betting alerts in the region from 2018 to 2022. Brazil accounted for almost a third of those (31 per cent, or 33 alerts).
It was followed by the Dominican Republic and Mexico (10 per cent each), and Argentina and Peru (9 per cent each). Football betting accounted for 63 per cent of alerts in Brazil, followed by tennis (21 per cent). The IBIA warned that amid the “rapid growth of the Brazilian sports betting market, it is vital to prioritise integrity measures and ensure the long-term sustainability and credibility of the industry.”
IBIA CEO Khalid Ali said: “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 while reducing the risks of match-fixing.”
IBIA’s membership represents nearly 50 per cent of all international commercial online betting worldwide, comprising operators with a combined $137bn in sports betting turnover. In its report for 2022, the IBIA reported 268 alerts made to sports governing bodies – an increase of 14 per cent on 2021 and also higher than the 230 alerts reported in 2020.
Europe remained the region that saw the most alerts, accounting for 126 or 50 per cent of all alerts. That compares to 51 alerts in Asia, 25 in Africa, 22 in North America, 19 in South America and one in Australia. There were alerts for 14 sports and 61 countries. Tennis accounted for 102, up from 80 in 2021, and football accounted for 67 (66 in 2021).
Ali added: “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 to deploy a protective shield around IBIA operators, resulting in fewer attempts to corrupt our members compared to non-members.”
