America East Conference and Sportradar to roll out sports betting integrity program

The America East Conference, a Division I collegiate athletics conference with 10 member institutions, and Sportradar Integrity Services announced Wednesday a partnership to implement an integrity program aimed at educating America East student-athletes and other key stakeholders about the increasingly important topic of sports betting integrity. 

Through this program, Sportradar is designing and developing educational material to deliver to America East student-athletes in the coming months. Sportradar’s team of integrity and college sports experts, as well as professional educators, are crafting the educational content, which will draw upon Sportradar’s experience in combating match-fixing around the world for over 15 years.

Topics covered will include best practices for identifying and reporting integrity concerns, rules and regulations around sports betting and match-fixing, responsible gambling and inside information misuse, case studies of game-fixing incidents, among others. Sportradar is also supporting America East Conference administrators with the implementation of best-in-class standard operating procedures to govern the intake, review, management, and investigation of any potential integrity concerns that arise in the future.

Initially known for its advanced sports betting monitoring capabilities and industry-leading Fraud Detection System (FDS), Sportradar expanded its services to encompass integrity education in early 2013. Since that time, its Education & Prevention team has educated audiences from over 25 countries and 17 different sports in 13 different languages. In total, Sportradar has educated over 35,000 athletes, coaches, and officials at all levels of competition.

“As regulated sports betting expands across the US, America East recognizes the risks this can pose to student-athlete well-being and the integrity of our competitions, and we wanted to work with experts to help protect our athletes and competitions,” said Amy Huchthausen, Commissioner of the America East Conference. “Sportradar Integrity Services is the leader in this field in the US and globally, and it was a straightforward decision to trust them with this important task and mission.”

“Sportradar is proud to play a pivotal role in efforts to protect the integrity of US collegiate sports,” said Andy Cunningham, Head of Integrity Services, North America, at Sportradar. “College sports face unique integrity concerns due to the youth and amateur status of their athletes and the substantial betting interest in their competitions. America East has taken a proactive and thoughtful approach to this topic, and we’re honored the conference has placed its trust in Sportradar.”

Established in 1979, the America East Conference is currently made up of 10 full-time member institutions and five associate members primarily located in the Northeast and East Coast. The conference sponsors 18 men’s and women’s sports, including basketball, baseball, lacrosse, cross country, track & field, soccer, swimming & diving, field hockey, softball, and women’s volleyball.

Sportradar’s Integrity Services unit supports more than 80 of the most prominent North American and international sporting bodies, including US entities such as the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS, NASCAR, United Soccer League, and other collegiate sports organizations.