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IBIA welcomes MGA’s integrity proposals

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The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) has published its response to the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA)’s consultation paper on suspicious betting reporting requirements. The response sets out IBIA’s views on the best ways operators can help maintain integrity in sports betting.

The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) has published its response to the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA)’s consultation paper on suspicious betting reporting requirements, reacting positively to the proposed changes and encouraging the MGA to adopt the IBIA's own dispute resolution process.

The response welcomes the creation of the MGA Sports Integrity Unit, and points to a MoU agreed between MGA and IBIA shortly after it became operational in 2019.

IBIA also welcomed the MGA’s process to bring into force section 43 of the MGA's Gaming Authorisations and Compliance Directive. Section 43 states that B2C sports betting licensees shall inform the MGA of any instance of suspicious betting.

The MGA will conduct a consultation on the implementation of the rule, which the IBIA response welcomed as good practice.

A key consideration raised concerns customer disputes relating to suspicious betting. The report agrees with the MGA, that any suspicious betting reporting process is likely to generate customer disputes, especially in cases where winnings may be voided or withheld.

It therefore recommends that the MGA consider adopting IBIA’s recently introduced dispute resolution process, created together with IBAS and eCOGRA.

The response points out the benefits of IBIA’s customer-based international alert system, demonstrating how industry collaboration is essential for fast action to take place on fraudulent betting activity.

It also recognises that for non-IBIA MGA licensees, it should be easy to follow IBIA’s procedures, and that IBIA is open to discussing how it might include non-member operators in its system.

The response does however call for any MGA-licensed operators who are not currently members of IBIA to consider joining its betting integrity monitoring system.

The response underlines the importance of industry collaboration, and highlights that smaller operators who do not take part in an information sharing scheme around suspicious betting may be more likely to allow fraudulent betting activity. It therefore encourages all operators to take part in a suspicious betting reporting scheme.

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