IBIA invites more providers to join Payment Provider Forum
The International Betting Integrity Association aims to protect Brazil’s sports betting industry against financial fraud.
Brazil.- The International Betting Integrity Association has extended an invitation for more payment providers to join its IBIA Payment Provider Forum to protect sports betting integrity in Brazil. The move comes ahead of a meeting at the SBC Summit Rio.
The IBIA Payment Provider Forum comprises six payment providers so far: Bazk, Z.ro Bank, OneKey Payments, OKTO, VPag and Pay4Fun. These providers have signed IBIA’s Declaration of Commitment and Participation, committing to the joint development of standards and best practices for payment processing.
They have also agreed to engage in frequent collaboration with regulatory bodies, to promote responsible gambling and to advocate for a fair sports betting market. The IBIA has now extended an open invitation to all other payment service providers.
The IBIA estimates that its members will generate more than 70 per cent of all remote gross gambling revenue in Brazil following the launch of the regulated online gambling market in January.
CEO Khalid Ali said: “Cooperation between financial services, regulatory authorities and betting operators is essential to address the challenges from financial fraud and to maximise the potential of the sector in Brazil.
“[The] IBIA is therefore delighted that these major payment institutions have agreed to explore collaborative activities to protect the market. Working together, we can create a sustainable and thriving sports betting market in Brazil that benefits all stakeholders. Cross-sector partnership working is a central pillar of IBIA’s global activity, and the association will be assessing the potential benefits of replicating this group in a wider international setting.”
Rise in suspicious betting alerts
The IBIA has reported that it received 219 suspicious betting alerts in 2024. That’s a rise of 17 per cent from 187 in 2023 but remains below the 268 alerts reported in 2022 and is 11 per cent below the average of 245 alerts per year between 2020 and 2023.
Europe saw a notable improvement, with the number of suspicious betting incidents reported falling from 113 in 2023 to 80 in 2024. However, the number of alerts from Asia rose from 17 to 40 and the number from Africa rose from 16 to 28. An increase in alerts could also mean better detection and reporting.
Football and tennis continue to account for the majority of alerts at 61 per cent. There were 75 alerts related to football and 36 related to tennis. Table tennis came third again with 36 incidents reported. As for geography, alerts came from 53 countries. The Czech Republic had the highest tally at 19, followed by Turkey at 11.
