IBIA Reports 56 Suspicious Betting Alerts in Q1 2024
Football (soccer) and tennis accounted for 68% of cases
The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) revealed a total of 56 alerts of suspicious betting activities to the relevant authorities during the first quarter (Q1) of 2024.
This marks a significant increase of 65% compared to the 34 alerts reported in Q4 2023 and a 12% rise from the revised Q1 2023 total of 50 alerts. These alerts, crucial for maintaining integrity in sports betting, are detected through customer account data from IBIA members, which include more than 50 companies and 125 sports betting brands. This makes IBIA the largest integrity monitor globally.
Sports and Countries Impacted
In Q1 2024, the 56 reported incidents of suspicious betting involved six different sports across 21 countries and five continents. Key data highlights include:
- Football (soccer) led the alert count with 24 cases, marking a 50% surge from Q4 2023 and a 60% increase from Q1 2022.
- Turkey recorded the highest number of country alerts with 8 (five in football, two in tennis, and one in basketball). Furthermore, 41% of all alerts in Q1 were related to sporting events taking place in Asia, with North and South America following at 18% each.
- Europe had only 4 alerts, indicating a 76% decrease compared to the 17 alerts in Q4 2023.
CEO Insights
Khalid Ali, IBIA’s CEO, commented, “The first quarter demonstrated an increase in reported alerts, underscoring the persistent challenges faced by our members, sports organizations, and regulatory bodies against corrupt activities, with a noticeable focus on football and Asia in our Q1 report.”
A key aspect emphasized by Ali was the necessity of IBIA’s detailed global customer account data, available exclusively to IBIA and its members. This data serves as crucial evidence for advancing investigations and implementing sanctions to uphold the integrity of the sports betting landscape.
Focus on Canada and Regulatory Approaches
The Q1 report also delves into the sports betting landscape in Canada, particularly focusing on the contrasting licensing approaches in Ontario and the rest of the country. IBIA’s recent report highlighted Ontario as a leading jurisdiction for regulated gambling, with anticipated onshore channelization rates for sports betting set to rise significantly.
Notably, IBIA, representing a substantial portion of private sports betting operators licensed in Ontario, remains committed to safeguarding regulated sports betting markets from the perils of match-fixing through its effective global monitoring network.
With a network capable of monitoring transactional activities linked to individual customer accounts, IBIA members contribute significantly to the global commercial sports betting sector, signaling a strong commitment to transparency and integrity within the industry.