GLMS reports decline in Q1 suspicious betting alerts

The Global Lottery Monitoring System (GLMS), the sports betting integrity body for the lottery industry, has reported a 31.8% year-on-year drop in the number of suspicious betting alerts registered in the first quarter.

The body sent a total of 135 alerts to its members during the three months to 31 March, compared to 198 in the corresponding period last year.

Football was the sport of most concern for the GLMS in Q1, accounting for 81 of all alerts for the period. Ice hockey followed in a distant second with 19 alerts, then basketball on 17, tennis with 11, volleyball on three, esports with two and one apiece for handball and badminton.

Europe accounted for 90 of the total alerts, with 54 being in relation to wagering on football, ahead of 17 for ice hockey, 10 for basketball, four on tennis, three for volleyball and one each for badminton and handball.

Asia followed some way behind Europe with 27 alerts, the majority of which were for football betting, then South America with seven alerts, North America on six alerts and Africa with five. The GLMS also noted that it did not register a single alert in Oceania in Q1.

More than three quarters of all alerts (104) were for bets placed before an event, while the main reason for raising alerts was in relation to team news, with a total of 35 alerts filed as a result.

Other major triggers included 20 alerts for significant odds changes and 25 alerts for odds changes that required further investigation, while 17 alerts were raised after a specific request had been sent to the GLMS.

Reflecting on the first quarter, GLMS president Ludovico Calvi acknowledged that the industry faces a number of challenges due to the situation with the novel coronavirus (Covid-19), adding that ensuring integrity across the lottery market remains key.

“Despite the level of complexity involved, creating clarity and security for our employees and business partners is absolutely key when the situation and the available information are constantly changing,” he said.

“The last thing we want is to generate confusion because of the lack of information and the countless media reports offering different perspectives and advice. The real challenge is to adopt new ways of working and for that transition to be handled smoothly requires clear, consistent, timely guidance.

“With personal interactions and retail business completely restricted, another important step to take could be to review our channel distribution mix both in B2C and B2B environments. Rapid redeployment of resources towards digital channels would allow lotteries to continue to operate and satisfy drastically changing consumer’s needs and behaviours.”

This comes after the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA), the sports integrity monitoring body comprised of operator members, reported a 65% year-on-year hike in Q1 alerts.

Meanwhile, the GLMS has revealed that Germany’s Oddsett Sportwetten GmbH has joined the organisation as an associate member.

Oddset, which is jointly owned by seven of Germany's 16 state lotteries, is a licensed and state-owned company that provides sports betting through the retail networks of several state lotteries in Germany.

As a GLMS associate member, Oddset will receive summaries of GLMS global alerts and have access to education and prevention tools, as well as to the global GLMS information network. In addition, the operator will benefit from sponsorship and communication opportunities at GLMS events.

Oddset chief executive Christof Schoepfel said: “As a responsible sports betting provider, owned by and co-operating closely with lottery companies, we feel very committed to the goals of GLMS.

“Every sports betting offer should go hand in hand with the overarching goal of maintaining the integrity of the sport, because only a fair sporting event offers our customers the pleasure of betting.”

Calvi of GLMS added: “With the recent regulatory evolution, the largest market in Europe will now take further steps towards a full deregulation of the gaming market.

“Sports betting will definitely lead the way in Germany and Oddset will play an important role in the promotion of transparent and socially responsible gaming operations.”