Sports integrity – Bookielink

October 30, 2024

Brazil ministry of finance agrees partnerships with match-fixing monitoring bodies

On Tuesday (29 October), Brazil's ministry of finance announced it has agreed to partner with four industry monitoring and integrity organisations to aid the fight against match-fixing.

The Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA), which sits within the ministry of finance, penned Technical Cooperation Agreements (ACTs) with Genius Sports, Sportradar, the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) and the Sports Integrity Global Alliance (Siga and Siga Latin America) to counter fears over match-fixing in Brazil.

The partnerships will last for five years, with the collaborations aiming to strengthen the safety network surrounding the manipulation of sports in Brazil. They will consider the bodies’ learnings and experience in more mature markets like England and Australia.

The agreements will also serve to help the SPA gain knowledge of the betting market in Brazil, educating SPA teams on how to monitor the legal sports betting sector, which is set to go live alongside igamin..

October 8, 2024

Asian Football Confederation partners IBIA to tackle match-fixing

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has entered into a partnership with the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) strengthening its efforts to combat match-fixing across the sport.
Under the memorandum of understanding (MoU), the parties committed to jointly detect irregular betting patterns and suspicious activities in football. The partnership between the AFC and IBIA will run for a period of four years.

The IBIA will deploy its Monitoring and Alert Platform to share real-time data on suspicious betting activity with the AFC. This will strengthen the AFC’s abilities to investigate potential match manipulation.

Both parties also said that the partnership will support the AFC’s goal of creating a secure environment for the sport.

AFC committed to keeping football “clean”
Speaking about the deal, AFC general counsel and director of legal affairs, Andrew Mercer, says the organisation is committed to maintaining high ethical and sporting standards within football.

The ..

September 24, 2024

Svenska Spel targets high school athletes in latest match-fixing campaign

Svenska Spel is taking a hardline stance on match-fixing by joining forces with various local sports associations to launch a new awareness campaign.
The ‘My match’ campaign warns match-fixing is the biggest threat to sport today. It urges those involved in sport to “say no” to manipulation and report any incidences.

Sweden’s Basketball Association, E-sports Association, Ice Hockey Association, Tennis Association and Football Association are involved in the initiative.

It is largely targeting high school athletes hoping to influence them to speak up if they are aware of any manipulation taking place. Various campaign videos will be shown in schools and at referee meetings across the various sporting associations involved.

“Match-fixing goes against sport’s fundamental idea of fair play, which is a prerequisite for the sport’s credibility and survival,” the campaign’s question and answers page explains.

“The main aim is to counteract the culture of silence that can arise when peo..

August 19, 2024

Brazil committee endorses harsher penalties for match-fixing

Brazil's constitution and justice committee (CCJ) of the chamber of deputies has passed a bill that seeks to make the penalties for those found to have manipulated matches harsher.
The bill is looking to amend Brazil’s General Sports Law. It was originally authored by representative Bandeira de Mello before representative Orlando Silva drafted a revised version.

Current penalties for those guilty of match-fixing are a prison term of between two and six years as well as a fine. The substitute bill would increase that penalty from a third to a half should the person involved serve as a referee, player, coach, bettor or agent as well as a manager, director or representative of a sports club.

Additionally, the amended bill includes a prison sentence of between two and six years for those who solicit or recruit people such as referees, athletes, coaches or directors to commit manipulation.

The sports committee had already approved the bill. The chamber of deputies’ plenary will now ..

August 7, 2024

Match-fixing or mass hysteria in Brazil?

A match-fixing storm has recently engulfed football in Brazil with allegations of manipulation and lies providing a dramatic side plot to the upcoming launch of the country’s legal sports betting market. But is the problem actually as bad as feared?
If you ask people to name five things Brazil is most famous for, you’d be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t mention football. The bright yellow shirts of the national football team are perhaps the most iconic around, with legendary players such as Pele and Ronaldo leading the Seleção to win five World Cups, the most of any country.

And yet, such a historic footballing nation has seen its most treasured sport thrown into disarray of late.

O jogo bonito is a religion in Brazil, but is there a dark side?
The row erupted when American businessman John Textor, owner of Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas, made allegations of match-fixing against São Paulo players. Textor claimed he had evidence they were bribed in a game against Palmeiras in ..

July 29, 2024

Weekend Report: Kayshon Boutte’s “dumb decision” and Betway partner Man City

Welcome to the Weekend Report, where iGB covers the news you may have missed over Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This week we’ve got news of Betway partnering with Premier League champions Manchester City, a bill to restrict online gambling advertising in New York and more.
NFL’s Kayshon Boutte glad to be back
New England Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte spoke of his delight at being back to playing football after charges against him for gambling were dropped earlier this month.

Boutte was arrested in January over accusations he had placed over 8,900 bets while under the legal gambling age of 21 in his native Louisiana. However, the Louisiana State Police Gaming Enforcement Division dropped those charges in July.

Speaking to reporters after the fourth day of Patriots’ training camp, Boutte labelled his actions as a “dumb decision”. He also said he was glad to be focusing on football again, admitting he needs to “stay away” from gambling.

Betway becomes global betting partner of ..

July 8, 2024

Weekend Report: Labour win’s impact on gambling, FanDuel thriving in NY

Welcome to the Weekend Report, where iGB updates you with the stories you may have missed over the last few days.

New Labour government brings gambling uncertainty

Thursday’s (4 July) UK general election brought with it a significant shift in power as Labour claimed a huge majority. This ended a 14-year reign by the Conservatives and led to a major overhaul of key parliamentary personnel.

Lisa Nandy MP, who has taken over as the new secretary of state for culture, media and sport, will be charged with overseeing Britain’s gambling industry. On the World Series of Politics podcast prior to the election this week, Regulus Partners’ Dan Waugh outlined how a Labour government could impact the gambling industry.

“In terms of whether it has a major bearing on the gambling market, it’s unclear,” Waugh said. “From an industry perspective, it looks reasonably comforting. Labour is making some fairly positive noises about this.

“I’m not sure it’s that straightforward and the reason I say th..

June 11, 2024

ITIA issues sanctions over tennis betting offences

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has sanctioned a former professional player and official for betting-related offences.

David Gorsic, a Slovenian former player, and Steven Nguyen, an inactive Australian national-level official, have been charged. Both admitted to betting on tennis while covered by the Tennis Anti-Corruption Programme (TACP).

Gorsic, who reached a career-high world singles ranking of 1,399 back in 2015, admitted to betting between 2017 and 2018.

He faces a six-month ban, three months of which are suspended. This means he will not be eligible between 21 May and 20 August. He has also been fined $5,000 (£3,926/€4,660), with $3,500 of that figure suspended.

Nguyen, who has officiated at ITF junior, wheelchair and W25 events, was found to have bet on tennis between 2021 and 2023. He will serve a three-month sanction – from 23 May to 22 August – and pay a $2,000 fine, with $1,400 of that suspended.

The ITIA did not disclose any further information on th..

June 3, 2024

England cricketer Carse banned for betting breach

English fast bowler Brydon Carse will serve a ban from playing cricket after breaching betting rules.

The punishment from the Cricket Regulator states 13 months of Carse’s 16-month ban will be suspended.

Brydon’s team Durham says he can train during his ban, which will run until 28 August.

The 28-year-old is charged with placing 303 bets on various matches between 2017 and 2019.

Carse did not place any bets on games in which he played. He accepted the charges and “demonstrated significant remorse”, the Cricket Regulator said.

The Cricket Regulator is responsible for monitoring compliance and enforcement of the game’s regulations in England. It was established in December 2023 and is ring-fenced from the rest of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

Educational example

“We take these matters extremely seriously and do not condone any form of anti-corruption breach in cricket,” the ECB stated.

“We support the Cricket Regulator’s decision and their consideration of the mitiga..

May 17, 2024

Australian A-League footballers charged over alleged betting corruption

Police in New South Wales (NSW) have charged three footballers playing in the Australian A-League with alleged betting corruption linked to yellow card manipulation.

The A-League footballers, who have not been named, all play for a team located in south-west Sydney. The players have been bailed and will appear in court soon to hear more on the corruption charges.

In a statement confirming the news, the NSW police force says the arrests were made following an investigation by the organised crime squad. The investigation is into alleged betting corruption under Strike Force Beaconview.

Established in December, Strike Force Beaconview is focusing on yellow card manipulation. The State Crime Command’s Organised Crime Squad is being assisted by Great Britain’s Gambling Commission.

Investigators found a senior player was allegedly taking instructions from a man to organise for yellow cards to occur during certain games in exchange for profit. The man in question is believed to be locate..

May 13, 2024

ITIA bans two tennis players for corruption linked to Belgian syndicate

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has banned two tennis players for corruption linked to a syndicate in Belgium.

The ITIA has issued Alejandro Mendoza Crespo with the maximum penalty of a lifetime ban from tennis for 20 offences. Meanwhile, Jorge Panta Herreros has been suspended for three years for four infringements.

The sanctions were handed down by independent anti-corruption hearing officer Professor Richard McLaren. This came after a formal hearing in early March, with the suspensions effective from 4 April onwards.

Mendoza and Panta were also issued with fines of $250,000 (£199,619/€231,942) and $10,000 respectively. The pair will be banned from playing, coaching or attending any event sanctioned by ITIA members, including the ATP and WTA.

Last week, Eduardo Agustín Torre was suspended for five years following 35 breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Programme (TACP). Torre was also fined $35,000.

New ITIA sanctions follow syndicate-related tennis bans

The ..

April 25, 2024

IBIA reports 64.7% increase in Q1 suspicious betting alerts

The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) received 56 alerts of suspicious betting during Q1, up 64.7% on the final quarter of 2023.

Additionally, the IBIA’s Q1 figure was 12.0% above the revised total of 50 alerts from the same quarter last year. The alerts came from six sports across 21 countries and five continents.

The IBIA looks at suspicious betting activity to establish potential sports corruption. The IBIA’s members include over 50 companies and more than 125 betting brands. This makes it the largest integrity monitor of its type across the globe.

IBIA chief executive Khalid Ali believes the rising number of alerts is another indicator of ongoing match-fixing problems.

“The first quarter saw an increase in reported alerts highlighting the ongoing challenge our members, sports and regulatory authorities face from corrupt activity,” Ali said. “IBIA’s alerts are supported by detailed global customer account data only available to IBIA and its membership, which con..

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Tag: Sports integrity