IBIA stresses the essential requirement for integrity solutions in Latin American betting

The Q1 integrity report from the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) emphasizes the crucial necessity of integrity solutions in Latin America, particularly as Brazil readies to introduce regulated sports betting. The report underlines the significance of IBIA member operators in detecting and deterring sports manipulation.

In the report, 40 instances of questionable betting behavior were documented across 22 countries and nine sports worldwide. Football accounted for the most reported alerts globally, with 15 cases, which represents 38 percent of all alerts in the quarter. Tennis generated 12 alerts, which is half the quarterly average from the previous year. Spain had the most alerts among countries, with eight – which is the same as the total alerts for Spanish events in all of 2022.

In addition, the Q1 report offers a focused analysis of suspicious betting alerts concerning the Latin American market. From 2018 to 2022, the region recorded 105 such alerts, with Brazil accounting for nearly one-third (31 percent) of them or 33 alerts.

The Dominican Republic and Mexico followed, each with 10 percent, while Argentina and Peru both had 9 percent. Football betting was responsible for 63 percent of alerts in Brazil, followed by tennis at 21 percent.

The IBIA cautioned that with the swift expansion of the Brazilian sports betting sector, it is crucial to prioritize integrity measures and ensure the industry’s long-term sustainability and credibility.

According to the CEO of IBIA, Khalid Ali, all relevant stakeholders including policymakers, regulators, sports and betting operators have a significant role to play in ensuring Brazil enjoys the benefits of a competitive regulated sports betting market while minimizing match-fixing risks.

IBIA represents almost half of all international commercial online betting globally, with operators having a combined sports betting turnover of $137bn.

The Q1 Integrity Report for 2022 recorded a total of 268 alerts, an increase of 14% compared to 2021, with Europe accounting for 50% of all alerts. Tennis accounted for 102 alerts, while football accounted for 67.

IBIA’s alert network provides comprehensive and detailed intelligence on suspicious betting activity globally, utilizing customer-account data available to IBIA and its members, covering almost 50% of all regulated commercial online betting.

Ali also noted that this collective effort results in fewer attempts to corrupt IBIA members compared to non-members.