DraftKings joins International Betting Integrity Association
The operator joins others across more than 15 regulated US and global markets, and its membership will help strengthen IBIA’s bespoke global monitoring and alert platform, by sharing information on suspicious betting with other operators.
DraftKings’ clients, for the B2B sportsbook solution it owns through its acquisition of SBTech, will also benefit from IBIA’s monitoring and alert platform via DraftKings’ access. However these companies will not be classed as being part of the association, or have access themselves, which is a benefit given only to operators who apply for membership in their own right.
IBIA is run by operators and aims to protect its members from corruption through collective action. Its monitoring and alert platform detects and reports suspicious betting activity on its members’ betting markets.
The association holds information sharing partnerships with leading sports and gambling regulators, and represents the sector at policy discussion forums such as the International Olympic Committee, United Nations, Council of Europe and European Commission.
“Joining the leading global voice on integrity for the licensed betting industry is a clear statement of intent by DraftKings,” DraftKings chief compliance officer Tim Dent said.
“The company places the protection of its client’s businesses, consumers and sporting events from corruption at the forefront of our corporate strategy. This agreement provides DraftKings’ private operator sportsbook clients with unparalleled trading and risk management protection.”
IBIA’s chief executive Khalid Ali added: “The association is delighted to welcome another leading name in the regulated sports betting sector to its ranks. DraftKings operates in a truly global business landscape.”
“The addition of DraftKings’ sportsbook trading platform provides a significant boost to IBIA’s already extensive global regulated sports betting market and customer monitoring capabilities.”
Together with the Tennis Integrity Unit, IBIA warned operators this year of an increased risk of professional sport matches being targeted by fixers amid the novel coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic.
The association reported a 65% year-on-year increase in suspicious betting activity for the first quarter of 2020, with a total of 61 alerts recorded across seven different sports during the three months to 31 March. This figure also represented a 36% increase on the final quarter of 2019.
27 of the Q1 alerts came from Europe, 18 from Asia, 7 from Africa, 6 from South America and 3 from North America. In January, IBIA published its full-year suspicious betting report for 2019, which revealed that the total number of alerts registered last year amounted to 183, down 31% from 267 in 2018.
DraftKings becomes the association’s newest member, after IBIA was joined by Romania’s Superbet in July, having signed its first Latin American member, Betcris, in May.