The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) revealed a 52% increase in suspicious sports betting alerts in the third quarter of 2020.
The sports betting integrity agency reported a total of 76 alerts for the quarter through September 30, a mark significantly higher than the 50 alerts obtained in 2019, and a 31% increase over the previous quarter.
Football and tennis were the most affected sports, with 25 complaints each. For football, this represents a major expansion compared to the four alerts seen in the second quarter, although the sport has been strongly impacted by a worldwide suspension of activities due to the pandemic of the new coronavirus.
The list continues with eSports with 14 alerts, table tennis with seven, basketball and bowling with two each and cricket with a reported alert.
IBIA reveals the origin of suspicious notifications
In terms of location, Europe recorded almost half of all cases with 34 notifications, with six alerts coming from Russia and four from Ukraine and another four from Germany.
Asia then appears with 15 alerts, followed by North America with 12, all linked to American tennis, and South America with only one.
IBIA CEO Khalid Ali said: “As anticipated, there was an increase in suspicious bet alerts with the return of many sports during this quarter.”
There, he added: “IBIA will continue to work closely with key stakeholders on issues of betting integrity and also in related areas, such as collecting sports data and resolving customer disputes.”
The IBIA CEO also mentioned the growing number of members of the organization, which has accepted four new members this year. DraftKings and Football Index entries, for example, were announced last month.
