Virgin Bet joins International Betting Integrity Association
Gamesys-owned Virgin Bet has become the latest online sportsbook operator to sign up as a member of the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA), the sports betting integrity monitoring body previously known as ESSA.
Virgin Bet will now join almost 50 other brands currently working with the IBIA. The organisation, which rebranded in June, monitors global betting patterns for evidence of suspicious activity.
The move comes after Gamesys rolled out the Virgin Bet online sportsbook in the UK last month, through a partnership with SBTech. It is one of just a handful of assets that will not be sold to JPJ Group as part of a £490m asset acquisition. This will see JPJ acquire the Gamesys technology platform, bingo content studios, B2C gaming sites and its US-facing Virgin Casino site.
“Betting-related corruption in sport represents a serious risk to all operators; it is why licensing and regulatory processes around the world are increasingly focusing on integrity measures,” Virgin Bet marketing director Simon Mizzi said.
“Membership of the International Betting Integrity Association, a global leader in that field, is the most effective way of highlighting our commitment to protecting our customers and sporting events. We go into our new enterprise with the best possible business protection.”
IBIA secretary general Khalid Ali added: “The Virgin brand is one of the most recognised in the world and I am delighted that one of Virgin Bet’s first acts is to commit to investing in the integrity of its product and sporting events by joining our association.
“I can’t stress enough how important it is for operators to engage collectively on this issue from both a corporate responsibility and business perspective.”
Last month, AB Trav och Galopp (ATG) the market-leading operator in the early months of Sweden’s regulated igaming market, became the first brand to join the IBIA since the body’s rebrand.
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