ESSA reveals slight drop in suspicious betting alerts in Q3

ESSA reported 37 cases of suspicious betting activity in the third quarter of this year, with tennis accounting for 84% of alerts.

Tennis alerts have topped the integrity statistics for seven consecutive quarters since ESSA introduced its quarterly reporting practice at the start of 2015, with 31 cases having been raised within the sport in the most recent period.

Three cases were related to football, while table tennis, volleyball and beach volleyball each recorded one alert of suspicious betting activity.

ESSA chairman Mike O’Kane said: “Our Q3 2016 integrity statistics follow much the same pattern as the previous six quarters, with tennis alerts far exceeding that of any other sport.

“Whilst the Tennis Integrity Unit has made some welcome additions to its investigatory team, the implementation of any wider recommendations unfortunately looks to be some way off, whilst alerts continue to rise.”

O’Kane also drew attention to the conclusions of the recently published in-play position paper by the UK Gambling Commission, which found no evidence to show that the integrity risks of in-play betting are greater than pre-event betting.

Related article: ESSA confirms 41 suspicious betting cases in Q2