Sports integrity ensures that only the performance of the athletes determines the final score. The National Basketball League (LNB), aware of the current scenario, held a talk with all the athletes and coaches of the 22 teams participating in the Basketball Development League (LDB) 2025. The topic addressed was “Sports Integrity and Match-Fixing”.
Genius Sports’ Head of Integrity for Latin America, Tiago Horta Barbosa, led the meeting. The company has a partnership with the LNB, and registered players must also sign an “Integrity Commitment Agreement”.
Integrity Lecture Sessions
The sessions took place remotely on two dates, the first took place on Tuesday (17/06) and the second took place last Friday (20/06).
Tiago Horta explained: “It is very sad when athletes get involved in illicit betting and match-fixing and end up having their careers harmed, and sometimes ended, because of it. But, unfortunately, this has become an increasingly frequent reality in Brazil.”
The expert added: “It is in order to avoid this type of situation that Genius Sports, together with the LNB, for the second consecutive year, is promoting this integrity initiative that aims to educate young athletes in the Basketball Development League about these problems and how they should act to protect themselves.”
Details of the content presented to LDB players
During the meeting, Tiago Horta detailed how the problem impacts sports. He presented the ways in which manipulation occurs and its beneficiaries, as well as teaching how to identify and combat these practices. Punishments were also explained to protect young talents.
The speaker showed real cases from sports, such as that of Jontay Porter, banned from the National Basketball Association (NBA) for sports betting. While Ygor Catatau lost his football career after manipulating results. The player participated in a scheme in the Brazilian Championship Series B in 2022. Operation Maximum Penalty revealed the case through the Public Ministry of Goiás.
Tiago Horta concluded: “By educating youth athletes about the risks of betting and match-fixing, we are protecting not only their careers, but also the future of basketball for future generations.”
“More than training players, we want to train citizens prepared for the ethical challenges of modern sport. That is our goal,” he added.
The LDB is responsible for organizing the National Basketball League, with master sponsorship from Caixa Econômica Federal and the Federal Government. The Brazilian Club Committee (CBC) has a partnership with the tournament. The Brazilian Basketball Confederation endorses the competition.
