IBIA reports 88 suspicious betting alerts in Q2

Football was responsible for 32 alerts during Q2, ahead of tennis with 27, horse racing on 12 and eight for table tennis. A further four alerts were related to esports, three for basketball and one each for handball and greyhound racing.

The total number of suspicious betting alerts was up significantly from 38 in Q2 of last year.

In terms of location, events in Europe generated the highest number of alerts with a total of 46, with 18 of these for football and 12 for tennis.

The highest number of alerts were registered in Poland, with six alerts being reported in the quarter, all of which were related to table tennis. Denmark placed second with five alerts, all for tennis.

Elsewhere, 18 alerts were raised in Asia, all of which were related to suspicious betting on football. Mongolia topped the list here with four alerts, ahead of Georgia on three.

Some 13 alerts were reported in North America, all in the US, with 10 for horse racing and three for tennis. Four of the five alerts in Africa were over football betting in Ghana and one tennis case in Algeria, while there were two alerts in South America, one for football in Brazil and one for tennis in Chile.

The IBIA noted that not a single alert was raised over suspicious betting in Australasia. 

Meanwhile, the IBIA referenced Ontario in particular as an area of focus, with the Canadian province having launched its legal betting market at the start of the quarter.

According to data from H2 Gambling Capital, Ontario’s handle, including horse racing, is expected to increase considerably in the coming years, driven by the increased availability of sports betting.

Handle for 2021 was calculated at CA$1.14bn (£736m/€872m/US$876m), with this expected to reach $1.56bn in 2022 and $8.02bn in 2023, reaching $12.28bn by the year 2027.