Esports alert: Suspicious bets are on the rise
The quarterly report of the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) has shown a slight decrease in suspicious betting alerts. During the third quarter (Q3) of 2022, a total of 76 cases of suspicious bets have been registered worldwide. Once again Europe leads the number of registered cases with around half. By sports, football and tennis concentrate the majority of alerts with a surprising increase in esports.
Slight decrease in suspicious betting alerts during the third quarter of 2022 with a considerable increase in cases in electronic sports. ©Stem List/Unsplash
Esports increasingly present in operators' alert systems
IBIA's third quarterly report has found a slight decrease in alerts for suspicious bets , which have been counted at 76. Let's remember that last quarter left us with a notable increase in alerts , which came to 88. This represented an increase in alerts by more than half compared to the previous quarter.
IBIA CEO Khalid Ali has downplayed the significant increase in alerts, taking into consideration that the breadth of membership of the association has allowed for greater global coverage during this period. He has also insisted that the identified alerts serve to boost the fight against fraud and for the integrity of betting.
"The alerts for the quarter are at the upper end of the scale compared to previous years, but we must take into account the significant growth of the association's members during the year. This has served to increase the coverage of the global market and the identified and communicated alerts, which underlines the beneficial impact of a global betting integrity network with multiple operators. The IBIA continues to work closely with its members and external stakeholders, such as sports bodies and regulators, to ensure that appropriate risk management processes are in place and encourages a zero-tolerance approach to the manipulation of sporting events and associated betting fraud.” – Khalid Ali , CEO of IBIA, in press release
The recent reform of the Gambling Regulation Act in New Zealand has introduced mechanisms for the eradication of gambling fraud through the Global Betting Market Research Service (SIGMA) that it comes out thus reinforced.
The key facts
The registered alerts they covered 8 sports , the 4 main ones being the following:
- Tennis : 33 cases
- Electronic sports : 16 cases
- Football : 13 cases
- Table tennis : 10 cases
These 4 sports have accounted for 95% of all alerts . From a geographical point of view, Europe accounted for half of the registered alerts, 49%, followed by Asia (11%) and Africa (9%).
Other relevant data were that alerts in football decreased by 60% compared to the previous quarter, going from 32 alerts to only 13. In relation to the second quarter, the percentage of decrease in total alerts was 15%.
It also highlights the rise of alerts in e-sports or esports in 2022 that go from 4 in the second quarter to 16 in the third. In the first quarter of the year, only one alert was registered. The presence of esports is increasing and the increase certainly has to do with the increased bets on this modality .
