The planet will stop in the coming days for the opening of the FIFA Club World Cup! The tournament starts this Saturday (14), with the clash between Al Ahly and Inter Miami, at 9 pm (Brasília time), at the Hard Rock Stadium, in Miami Gardens.
As with any major sporting event, numerous entities are working to ensure that everything is resolved on the field. That’s why we spoke exclusively with Jack Byrne, Betting Integrity Manager at the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA), to present the integrity mechanisms in detail and explain what happens when any suspicion of irregularity is identified in the betting markets.
Byrne also discussed the regulation of sports betting in Brazil, highlighting its importance in protecting the country’s most popular sport.
“From an integrity standpoint, having greater visibility into consumer behavior in the Brazilian market, rather than abroad, is an extremely positive step toward combating the problem of match-fixing. There is always more to be done, but the first steps have been positive,” he said.
It is worth remembering that the Club World Cup will be held between June 14 and July 13 in the United States. Brazil will have four representatives due to the recent victories in the Copa Libertadores da América of Botafogo, Flamengo, Fluminense and Palmeiras.
Check out the full interview with Jack Byrne from IBIA:
iGaming Brazil: How does IBIA monitor suspicious betting patterns during major sporting events, such as the FIFA Club World Cup?
Jack Byrne (IBIA): The IBIA is made up of over 80 betting operators that operate in well-regulated sports betting markets around the world, including the United States, and generate over $300 billion in revenue each year.
These members have robust internal controls in place to detect unusual betting activity, taking into account: increased turnover on an individual event or market, when maximum betting limits are reached, new customers opening accounts to bet on a specific outcome or when established customers demonstrate a change in their usual behaviour.
When an irregularity is detected by an IBIA member, they raise an alert on the IBIA’s bespoke alerts platform, alerting IBIA and all other members of the concern. All IBIA members then check the relevant betting markets and report back to the platform if they have observed anything similar and have the same concerns. This provides a holistic view of the activity observed across IBIA members, which covers a significant portion of the regulated betting industry worldwide.
The IBIA will analyse the information collected from its members and, taking into account sporting factors, wider market movements and customer betting histories, will determine whether the activity should be considered suspicious and warrant further investigation by the governing body of the sport in question. In the case of the Club World Cup, any suspicious betting activity detected will be reported to FIFA for action as deemed appropriate.
iGaming Brazil: How does the collaboration between IBIA, regulated bookmakers and sports authorities contribute to maintaining the integrity of the Club World Cup?
Jack Byrne (IBIA): Collaboration between stakeholders is vital to maintaining the integrity of the Club World Cup and all sporting competitions. Firstly, enabling regulated bookmakers to communicate with each other, via the IBIA, about potential concerns about market activity is invaluable in protecting the industry.
Secondly, having these relationships and mechanisms in place for bookmakers to share suspicious betting activity and crucial customer data with sports authorities is critical for those authorities to investigate such activity and maintain the integrity of competitions.
iGaming Brazil: FIFA has created an Integrity Task Force to work in all competitions organized by the entity, and the debut of this new model will take place precisely in the competition in the United States. IBIA is part of this task force. How will this joint work take place?
Jack Byrne (IBIA): Yes, the Integrity Task Force established by FIFA is now an annual working group, which meets regularly and in constant communication, whereas previously the group met for major tournaments organised by FIFA. IBIA is pleased to join other key stakeholders such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the FBI and Interpol, among others, to share information on areas of risk related to match-fixing, including teams and players, but also persons of interest who may be involved in corruption.
The Task Force enables each member of the group to understand areas of risk that they might not otherwise be aware of by sharing this information. It also allows us to work quickly and efficiently to take action when there is an integrity issue.
The Task Force is a continuation of the group that has been working together for many years, and is not a new entity. That said, there are specific strategies for each competition, which include scenario planning with venue-specific entities such as local law enforcement and the relevant football confederations – in this case, CONCACAF.
Therefore, in this sense, holding the Club World Cup in the same country, cities and in the same stadiums that will host some of the World Cup matches will serve, and has already served, as an opportunity to solidify these relationships.
iGaming Brazil: What are the criteria and technologies used by IBIA to initiate an investigation into a match with evidence of match-fixing?
Jack Byrne (IBIA): Alerts received by IBIA can have very different profiles. Therefore, there are a number of factors to consider when analysing betting activity and ultimately deeming it suspicious and worthy of investigation by the stakeholders we work with, whether that be sports authorities or law enforcement agencies.
For example, some alerts may be based on the large volume of bets placed and the amount staked on an outcome occurring, which exceeds the regular expectations of several betting operators. However, this is not always the case – on other occasions, bets may be smaller and only with one betting operator, but the operator may have identified a link between the customer(s) and the athlete or players of a team, which may be considered suspicious and reported externally for investigation.
Indeed, money is only one factor to be considered, and the change in customer behavior is often a determining factor for IBIA to consider betting activity suspicious, such as one or more customers among IBIA members significantly increasing their bets compared to their average or placing their first bet on football having only bet on basketball, for example.
Therefore, there is no single criterion for considering betting activity suspicious due to the different types of activity that may indicate potential match-fixing. When betting activity is considered suspicious, it is reported to the relevant investigating body via a secure platform to ensure confidentiality.
iGaming Brazil: How is IBIA preparing to deal with risks in expanding sports betting markets, such as Brazil and the United States?
Jack Byrne (IBIA): In our experience, the legalization and regulation of sports betting in Brazil and the US helps reduce the overall integrity risk as bettors migrate from the offshore market. If suspicious betting activity does occur offshore, it is often hidden, occurring with operators who do not have the willingness or the necessary relationship to share this information with the relevant entities.
For IBIA, our goal is to expand our network of licensed operators in Brazil and the US, and also globally, so that they receive alerts that come into the IBIA platform, making them aware of any integrity concerns. In addition, they can issue alerts themselves and, through IBIA, ensure that suspicious betting activity is reported to the relevant stakeholders, who can then investigate the suspicions, working together to safeguard the integrity of the sport.
An increase in IBIA alerts relating to betting in these markets is not necessarily evidence of a newly discovered issue, but potentially evidence that a long-standing problem is being detected. And through the sharing of customer data via regulated and responsible betting operators, this suspicious betting activity can now be meaningfully investigated.
iGaming Brazil: Taking advantage of this, how has IBIA approached this new phase of the Brazilian market? Do you believe that the current measures are sufficient to curb irregular practices in Brazilian football?
Jack Byrne (IBIA): We welcome the regulation of sports betting in Brazil. From an integrity perspective, having greater visibility into consumer behavior in the Brazilian market, rather than abroad, is an extremely positive step towards combating the problem of match-fixing.
IBIA has added a significant number of new members in Brazil, in addition to the large international operators that operate in this market and are long-standing IBIA members. Leading industry data and intelligence firm H2 Gambling Capital predicts that IBIA will cover over 70% of Brazil’s licensed online gaming market, placing IBIA in a unique position from a monitoring perspective.
We are also working closely with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Sports, with whom we have signed cooperation agreements, formalizing the sharing of information and knowledge. The Federal Police has also engaged with IBIA and has demonstrated that it is highly competent and willing to work hard to combat match-fixing in Brazil.
There is always more to be done, but the first steps have been positive. The key now is for all stakeholders to work together and continually improve the practices and mechanisms for sharing information and data in place between the regulated betting sector and investigative bodies, in order to safeguard the integrity of Brazilian football and the sport as a whole.
