IBIA reports 42 suspicious betting alerts in Q3, with football and tennis accounting for 67%

The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) reported that suspicious betting alerts were down 16% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2024. There were a total of 42 alerts in the period, down 54% from the 91 alerts in Q2.

The Q3 incidents were spread across five sports in 18 countries and five continents, with football and tennis contributing to the maximum alerts at 14 each. Those two sports represented 67% of Q3 alerts. 

Other key data shared by the not-for-profit association included 14 alerts across sporting events in Europe, marking 33% of the total reported, thereby making it the leading continent. However, the quarter also saw a decrease of 6 alerts on European events compared to the revised Q2 2024 of 20 alerts. 

Meanwhile, Burundi racked up five alerts in Q3, giving the East African nation six total in 2024, the first since 2020. Those five alerts accounted for 12% of all alerts in Q3 2024

As for esports, the 12 alerts in the period represented a 75% decrease from the 48 reported in Q2 2024. Esports alerts spiked in Q2 after a gambling scandal earlier this year led to 68 counts of suspicious betting activity on a series of eSoccer matches.

“The third quarter saw football and tennis register the highest number of alerts, albeit those numbers are in line with those seen in recent years and, in the case of tennis, represent a significant decrease compared to its peak,” Khalid Ali, CEO of IBIA, said.

“It should also be noted that esports alerts fell back to more normal levels in Q3, following an increase during Q1 and Q2 that was primarily the result of a linked case,” Ali added. “We continue to work closely with the integrity authorities for those sports, and indeed all sports, where we see suspicious betting, with the aim of detecting and sanctioning corrupt activity to protect sporting events and betting markets.”

The IBIA was established in 2005 and its mission is to monitor and uncover anti-corruption and match-fixing in legal sports betting on a global scale. The organization partners with FIFA, UEFA, the ITIA, the IOC, and gaming regulators to obtain data and publicly report suspicious betting activity.

Along with its findings, the IBIA included a study from earlier this year on soccer betting markets and products, leading to a $500 billion handle forecast for the sport in 2024. The IBIA also projects a total gross revenue of $46.3 billion this year for soccer. 

“Consumers expect access to these core betting markets and any regulatory restriction of these products will inevitably impact onshore channelization,” the IBIA stated in its report.