eSports Dominate IBIA Suspicious Betting Alerts in Second Quarter of 2024
eSports were responsible for 54% of suspicious betting activities reported by the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) in Q2, while the total number of alerts grew by 80% year-on-year.
Suspicious eSports bets see an increase in the second quarter of 2024.
LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE:According to IBIA’s latest Integrity Report, 90 suspicious betting alerts were tracked in Q2, up from 50 in the previous year and surpassing the 56 initially reported in Q1 this year. However, the Q1 figure was later revised to 93.
eSports’ significant rise in popularity led to multiple alerts, compared to just one suspicious eSports betting alert in Q2 last year. The IBIA highlighted one case involving suspicious betting on 68 esoccer matches in Q1 and Q2. This incident contributed to eSports making up 50% of all alerts in the first half of 2024.
International Efforts to Tackle eSports Match-Fixing
Concerns over eSports betting integrity are not new and there are ongoing efforts to tackle match-fixing. The eSports Integrity Commission (ESIC) has formed global partnerships to combat fixing. Last month, ESIC announced a new collaboration with the International Olympic Committee to enhance integrity in eSports.
In June, sports betting integrity monitor, US Integrity partnered with game data platform Grid to create a new solution focused on monitoring integrity and detecting suspicious activities at eSports events.
Related: All Eyes Turn to Riyadh for 2024 eSports World Cup
To address the rise in alerts, IBIA CEO Khalid Ali stated that the organization is actively monitoring suspicious betting in eSports.
While the increase in alerts may understandably draw attention, it should be noted that eSports saw a significant reduction in annual alerts across IBIA’s membership in 2023. The case again highlights the importance and effectiveness of customer account monitoring in detecting suspicious betting and protecting sporting events, consumers, and regulated betting markets.
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Most Suspicious Betting Alerts Originate in Europe
Football followed eSports with 16 alerts in the period, ahead of table tennis with 12. Together, these three sports accounted for 84% of all Q2 alerts. The IBIA also reported nine alerts for tennis and two for badminton, with handball, boxing, and padel each receiving one alert during the quarter.
Although eSports had the most alerts, IBIA could not determine their geographic focus due to the unclear locations of many eSports events.
Of the alerts that could be geographically identified, 19 were in Europe. Six table tennis alerts were linked to Poland and one to Spain. Europe also had three tennis alerts, and two each for football and badminton, with one alert each for boxing, handball, and padel.
In Africa, 11 suspicious betting alerts were reported, with six for football (four in Algeria), three for table tennis (all in Nigeria), and two for tennis (in Nigeria). South America had five alerts (three for football, two for tennis), while Asia had four football alerts. North America reported three alerts (two for tennis and one for football).
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