ESSA, Betradar commence tennis integrity partnership

Betradar, the sports betting and data brand of Sportradar, has entered into a new partnership with ESSA to step up their efforts in tackling match-fixing in tennis.

Under the agreement, both parties will utilise Betradar’s Fraud Detection Service (FDS), covering over 450 operators, and ESSA members’ customer transactional data to provide a market overview and alert system.

The partnership will initially focus on tennis, which has been cited by ESSA on a number of occasions as the sport that is most often hit by corruption, although there is scope to expand the cooperation to other sports.

“The arrangement has clear benefits for both parties and represents a growing desire to complement each other’s efforts around match-fixing,” ESSA chairman Mike O’Kane said.

“By utilising the core strengths of both systems we have the potential to create an unparalleled level of data from which to detect betting-related corruption.

“That can then be used to stamp out attacks on betting operators and protect sporting events; put simply, everyone wins.”

Andreas Krannich, managing director security services at Sportradar, added: “Collaboration and information-sharing between credible organisations sits at the heart of the Council of Europe’s Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions and we are delighted that with ESSA, we are able to bring this intention to life.

“When you couple the peerless breadth of Sportradar’s FDS coverage with the unrivalled depth of ESSA’s coverage, you provide sport and those interested in sport with a truly compelling proposition.

“We are confident that this partnership will bear important fruit and bring a new level of insight into those looking to corrupt the integrity of sport.”

Related article: ESSA reveals suspicious sports betting activity in Q1