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IBIA’s latest quarterly Integrity Report (Q1) reported 40 suspicious betting activities identified by its members. These members represent over US$137 Billion in sports betting turnover and nearly 50% of commercial online betting worldwide. IBIA’s Q1 report highlights the importance to establish effective integrity solutions in Latin America, especially in Brazil, as well as the important role IBIA’s regulated operators have in identifying potential manipulation.
The 40 suspicious betting incidents in Q1 were spread across nine sports and 22 countries on five continents. Other key data for the Q1 of 2023
- The number of alerts reported for football was the highest in the world. The 15 alerts related to football represent 38% all alerts for Q1.
- The 12 tennis alerts in Q1 2023 represents a 50% reduction when compared with the average quarterly figure for 2022.
- Spain has the most alerts in Q1. The eight alerts for sporting events in Spain are equal to the number of alerts for Spanish events throughout 2022.
Khalid Ali is the CEO of IBIA. He said, “IBIA’s monitoring and alert system provides the most comprehensive and robust intelligence available on suspicious betting activities worldwide.” The system uses detailed customer-account information that is only accessible to IBIA members. It covers almost 50% of all commercially regulated online betting. We can deploy a shield of protection around IBIA members by leveraging these collective resources. This results in fewer attempts at corruption compared to those who are not members .”
The Q1 Integrity Report contains a targeted study of alerts on the Latin American Market, with 105 alerts that were suspicious in the region between 2018 and 22. Brazil was the leading source of alerts (31%) followed by Mexico and the Dominican Republic (10%) and Argentina and Peru (9%) It is not surprising that football, given its importance in Brazil accounted for 63%, followed by tennis at 21%. IBIA members raised 33 alerts in Brazil over the five-year period.
Khalid Ali IBIA CEO said: A well-regulated sports gambling market is essential in the fight against match-fixing related to sports betting. The role of all stakeholders, including betting operators, policymakers and regulators as well as sports, is to ensure Brazil benefits from a competitive and dynamic regulated sports wagering market while reducing match-fixing risks.
According to H2 Gambling Capital (the leading independent authority in global gambling market data), the Brazilian sports betting industry grew 44.4% between 2021 and 2022, reaching BRL4,506m ($940m) gross gambling revenue. It is expected to reach BRL9 265m ($1,860m), GGR, by 2027.
(105% increase).
