GMB – Accusations of match-fixing have been daily headlines in Brazil. Are debates on the subject essential to curb the practice?
Guilherme Buso – There comes a time when all players involved in sports – athletes, referees, coaches, competition organizers, government, competent bodies, bookmakers and companies like Genius Sports, which has the technology to monitor matches worldwide whole – cooperate with each other with insights, information that each of these stakeholders has, so that we can curb the manipulation of results. Eliminating it is very difficult, but with a mature and regulated market, it will be possible to greatly reduce the practice.
Especially because this is very important, since unpredictability is fundamental in sport!
This is the great grace of the sport. Even when we are very convinced that a team is going to win, anything can happen on a pitch or court. When you put that in check, you lose the grace and emotion, which is one of the main sensations of a sports competition. Protecting these sensations and these fundamental concepts of the sport is essential.
Is Genius Sports in a good moment in Brazil, with two things going on in parallel in the country, the fight against match-fixing and betting regulation coming out?
It is time to take the lead in the debate. It is taking a problem and trying, together with everyone, to find solutions, leading this process.
And showing technical competence for it!
Logical. Without technical competence and quality, you cannot take responsibility for yourself. You can't draw attention to something so problematic and worrying and not have the tools to contribute. It is to take advantage of all the technology and expertise, bringing the good practices of what was done abroad and bringing this to the debate in Brazil, collaborating with the ministries and with the regulation and directly with the federations. That's what we're doing, and we recently gathered nearly 200 athletes and officials from the National Basketball League to talk about this topic. They need to understand the size of the problem and know what to do if they are approached. This type of action is essential. We have three pillars that contribute to this work: monitoring, education and action. This is what we can offer the Brazilian market.
Source: Exclusive GMB
