Is match-fixing on the rise with the boom in sports betting?

Online sports betting is on the rise, and it has brought new excitement to fans and also big profits to betting companies. However, with it, comes also the growing concern about match-fixing. There are more sports betting options available, such as live betting, player props, and other markets, which means that the potential for manipulation has also increased.

Betting markets now include everything (from football to third-division tennis), and this makes it easier for corrupt bettors to target smaller events with less scrutiny and limited oversight.

Match-fixing scandals shake global sports

When we watch games, fans expect that players and officials are playing the game fairly and without bias. However, today's legalised sports gambling may be so tempting that players, officials and coaches artificially impact games by various means, like purposely losing and faking an injury.

There is also important team information that used to be well-guarded and private that somehow "got out" by an inside team official, allowing bettors more information to work with.

Recently, several match-fixing scandals have kept the issue in the headlines. There are a number of unforeseen consequences that can happen when gamblers and those “in the know” about information regarding teams engage in illegal activity. Sadly, some of the concerns we are seeing may be spiralling down to school sports as well.

Legalised betting increases the money at stake, which could tempt those involved to manipulate the outcomes and you that's how you get a gambling scandal. Lower-profile games or leagues may be the most vulnerable.

Regulation, education and transparency

Sports leagues and betting platforms are working together to monitor suspicious betting patterns. For this purpose, they enforce strict anti-corruption measures.

Athletes and officials are receiving training on the risks of gambling-related corruption, while organisations are getting sport investigator training. The latter focuses on investigative techniques, such as those used in police work, which include interview skills and getting information.

Leagues try to maintain transparency and integrity by hosting workshops that bring together national and regional stakeholders and law enforcement. Their goal is to raise awareness and to identify best practices.

Interpol and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) workshops assess breaches of sports integrity, sports betting developments and global crime trends. Interpol carries out a joint capacity-building and training project with the IOC to fight against competition manipulation.

The IOC monitor the media on competition manipulation and then provides an overview of open-source reports on investigations, sanctions, sentences, best practices and new developments in a specialist newsletter for practitioners.

FIFA and UEFA are actively investigating reports of match manipulation, while the IOC IBIS programme monitors betting during the Olympic Games. Tackling these issues needs national and international cooperation between sport, public authorities, betting regulators and the gambling industry.

Detecting suspicious gambling activity

Today’s betting operators are using tracking systems powerful enough to detect and stop suspicious activity. Many businesses like Betway, DraftKings and Bet365 are keeping an eye on the trends as alerts are set to trigger automatically if the sports odds change quickly or if big bets show up on obscure matches.

However, technology has a huge impact on sports betting, but it will not be enough here. There is also a need for collaboration between organisations to fight match-fixing.

For example, Sportradar and the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) work together and exchange real-time important data. They also organise investigations and even assist in taking action when corruption is suspected.

The industry's technology is evolving, but so are criminal tactics. In the end, the race to stay ahead of match-fixers is one that never ends.