NHL bolsters integrity defences ahead of Las Vegas move

The National Hockey League (NHL) has signed a deal to use Sportradar’s Fraud Detection System (FDS) as it seeks to boost its game-integrity protection systems.

The North American ice hockey competition has taken the step just weeks after announcing it had granted an expansion team to Las Vegas, which led to some questioning whether it would be at greater risk of game manipulation.

The NHL, which for years has used a variety of security agencies to proactively safeguard and ensure the integrity of its competition, will now be able to use the FDS to monitor global gaming activity and trends across more than 550 betting operators worldwide in order to pinpoint unusual patterns that could be cause for concern.

Sportradar, which is already the exclusive third-party provider of the NHL’s real-time game data, will monitor all regular-season and post-season games for any potential manipulation.

“While we have the utmost confidence in the integrity of our sports and our games, Sportradar’s FDS provides an additional layer of security and protection,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said.

Sportradar’s FDS is already used by major sports organisations, such as European football’s governing body, Uefa, World Rugby and the International Cricket Council.

Andreas Krannich, Sportradar’s managing director (integrity services), said: “Our award-winning FDS monitors over 100,000 matches across 12 sports around the world each year and we are delighted the NHL has chosen this system, that oversees all relevant operators and markets, to bolster its integrity defences.”

Related article: Sportradar extends partnership with Uefa