Sports betting integrity monitor notes decline in suspicious alerts

Suspected efforts by gamblers trying to fix sports matches were on the decline in 2019, according to the global body tasked with monitoring for such chicanery.

On Wednesday, the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) issued its annual report on the number of suspicious alerts it issued regarding possible attempts at match-fixing. The IBIA’s members include many of the global betting industry’s major players, who supply the data over which the IBIA keeps a close eye.

The IBIA (formerly known as ESSA) reported 45 suspicious alerts in the final quarter of 2019, bringing the full-year total to 183, a 31% decline from 2018’s total. Tennis continued to account for the bulk of alerts with 101, although this was down 43% from 2018. Football ranked second on the number of alerts with 49, while no other sport got out of single-digit territory.

A majority (52%) of 2019’s alerts came from outside Europe, seven points higher than the year before. Europe still scored highest on individual number of alerts (87), followed by Asia (52) and Africa (15), while North and South America tied with 13 alerts apiece.