Brazil: Sportradar gives masterclass on sports betting to officials investigating match-fixing

On Tuesday, September 5, Juan Matías Méndez, Sportradar's representative in Latin America, was received by the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry investigating match-fixing (CPI-FUTE). Méndez gave a masterclass on data, security, and integrity to the MPs present.

"We analyze the volume bet in each market and that gives us indications of possible irregular practices," said the Sportradar executive, adding that "bookmakers are not the organizations that manipulate match results."

During the exhibition, the company showed its work methodology in the prevention of fraud in sports, through the analysis of more than 900,000 matches per year worldwide using proprietary algorithms and mathematical models, including AI.

The company signed a contract with the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), which began in 2017 with an extension until 2025, where Sportradar provides its services in the national championships as for the state championships of the A Series. "And since we are contracted by FIFA, all suspicious data from the A and B Series of the Brazilian Championship and the Copa do Brasil are communicated to FIFA," he explained.

While Méndez made it clear that the company is not in a position to make suggestions on the regulation that is being dealt with in Congress, it can contribute to aspects that help guarantee the integrity of the sport.

"Match-fixing is a cancer and must be tackled from all fronts. It is a serious matter that involves criminal organizations against sports and against bookmakers. Education and research must be at the forefront of the work to curb this practice, and I sustain that bookmakers are not the organizations that manipulate matches," he concluded.