The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) reported 268 suspicious betting alerts in 2022, up 14% on 2021 figures and including 51 reports in Asia.
However, the IBIA said the increase was a result of significant growth of its membership and the coverage of its regulated betting market monitoring network, and is “reasonably consistent” with the average of 230 annual alerts reported between 2019 and 2021.
The 2022 figure included 50 alerts in the December quarter, which compared with 90 in Q1, 80 in Q2 and 48 in Q3. These spanned 14 sports and 61 countries, with tennis and football continuing to dominate. Europe also continued to provide the highest number of alerts with nearly 50% of the annual total at 126, followed by Asia with 51 reports.
From the total 268 suspicious betting reports in 2022, sporting or criminal sanctions were brought against 15 teams, officials or players with data from IBIA and its members helping contribute to such sanctions.
“The protective shield provided by IBIA is a vital tool in identifying and sanctioning attempted corruption on regulated betting markets,” said Khalid Ali, CEO of IBIA.
“That has been underlined by welcome successful prosecutions during 2022 based on IBIA data, and we expect further corroboration of the association’s important positive impact and collaborative approach to be evident throughout 2023.
“The addition of 16 new members in 2022 has undoubtedly strengthened our monitoring and alert network and our ambition is to see all responsible regulated sports betting operators collaborating through IBIA. Proactive and collaborative action by our sector is an essential component in the fight against match-fixing, and to enhancing the overall reputation of the sector in general.”
IBIA data shows there were 102 tennis alerts in 2022, up 27% year-on-year, plus 67 football alerts compared with 66 a year earlier. Ten of those football alerts were in India.
