Suspicious sports bets were on the rise in the first quarter of 2020, while bookmakers have once again been tricked into taking wagers on matches allegedly played by impostors.

This week, the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) issued its latest report detailing 61 suspicious alerts reported in Q1 2020 across seven different sports and 22 countries. The number of alerts is 65% than the number reported in the same period last year and 36% higher than those reported in Q4 2019.

Tennis accounted for the bulk (31) of Q1’s alerts, about on par with Q4’s total, while football saw its reports double to 18. Russia led all countries with 8 reports of dodgy tennis bets and three ping pong alerts, representing a significant chunk of Europe’s 27 overall alerts.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the cancellation of most major sports and racing events, pushing both bookmakers and bettors into wagers on unfamiliar sports and leagues, including the Belarusian leagues that have defied the current trend to suspend operations.