IBIA records decrease in suspicious betting activity in Q2 with 50 incidents reported over the period

The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) has released its sports integrity report for the second quarter (Q2) of 2023, revealing a yearly decline in suspicious betting activity.

According to the report, there were 50 incidents of suspicious betting activity reported to relevant authorities during Q2 2023, which represents a significant 44% decrease compared to the 90 alerts reported in Q2 2022. However, the figure marks a 4% increase from the revised Q1 report of 48 alerts. 

IBIA CEO Khalid Ali commented on the encouraging trend, stating: "The second quarter of the year saw a welcome downward trend with 44% less suspicious alerts compared to Q2 2022, and a near 30% decline in the first half of 2023 when considered against 2022."

"Much of that decline is a result of collaborative cross-sector efforts headed by the International Tennis Integrity Agency to eradicate match-fixing in tennis, the success of which was highlighted by the prison sentence recently handed out by a Belgian court. That judgment sends a clear and unequivocal message to corrupters that they will be caught, and harsh sanctions imposed."

The suspicious betting incidents were identified across IBIA members' global businesses, which consist of more than 125 sports betting brands and account for $137 billion in betting turnover per annum. This makes IBIA the largest integrity monitor of its kind worldwide.

Among the key data presented in the report, football (soccer) had the highest number of alerts in Q2 2023, with 19 incidents. This represents a 27% increase from the 15 alerts reported in Q1 2023 but a notable 41% decrease from the 32 alerts reported during the same quarter in 2022.

Tennis, which has been a focus of anti-match-fixing efforts, showed a significant decline in suspicious alerts. The Q2 2023 report recorded 12 tennis alerts, indicating a nearly 60% decrease compared to the revised figure of 29 alerts reported in Q2 2022.

The United Kingdom stood out as the country with the highest number of suspicious alerts during Q2 2023, reporting nine incidents across four sports. Specifically, there were five alerts for darts, two for football, and one each for bowls and boxing.

Ali further praised the International Tennis Integrity Agency's partnership with key stakeholders and their resolve to identify and punish illicit activity. "IBIA's responsible regulated betting operators remain committed to working closely with sports to weed out corruption," he stated.

The Q2 integrity report includes a detailed breakdown of alerts reported on sporting events that occurred in Europe between 2018 and 2022. Additionally, it also focuses on the Netherlands, which experienced eight suspicious alerts during this period, involving football, tennis, darts, and beach volleyball.

Further highlights of the report show that, of the 50 suspicious alerts in Q2 2023, 47 were related to men's events, two to women's events, and one to a mixed-gender event.

IBIA has also recently released a groundbreaking study analyzing the size and characteristics of the women's sports betting market and assessing the potential vulnerability of women's sports to match-fixing.