The CPI, which investigates match-fixing in Brazilian football, heard this Tuesday (5) afternoon, Juan Matias Méndez, representative for Latin America of Sportradar Integrity Service. A company with more than 22 years of experience in the global market, Sportradar contributed in a very didactic way in clarifying the importance of identifying and combating the practice of match-fixing.
Juan Méndez presented the company and the way it develops its work, analyzing more than 900,000 games annually around the world, using its own algorithms and mathematical models, including using AI.
23.05.09 - Sportadar Integrity Services - Audiência – CPI da Manipulação de Resultados by GAMES MAGAZINE BRASIL on Scribd
“Throughout our history in this segment of detection and combating the practice, we have already identified almost 9,000 suspected cases that, when investigated, were proven,” commented Méndez.
According to him, about 99% of the games analyzed are not suspicious, "but those that are, without any plausible justification, we point out as such with a 100% chance of success."
All cases are reported confidentially to the contracting entity, be it a league, confederation or bookmaker, so that action can be taken.
“Currently, we provide data to more than 900 bookmakers, such as odds, quotes, when the game will take place and match results. And we also serve media companies, leagues, federations and broadcast companies around the world,” he said.
According to the Sportradar representative, Brazil is on the right track to take to Congress “the discussion of this very important topic, which is the fight against match-fixing, that takes place all over the world. We have been working on this for many years and we have the same concern as you,” he said.
Directly, the representative of Sportradar stated that "we are the main supplier in the world in terms of integrity and when we point out a suspicion it is because the manipulation actually happened."
Today, the Sportradar monitoring system (UFDS) analyzes betting movements at more than 600 bookmakers worldwide. “We have an intelligence and investigation service to analyze and provide more data for potentially suspicious cases. Education and prevention are other important tools we make available,” he said.
CBF
Sportradar signed the first monitoring contract with the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) in 2017, with renewals until 2020, when the contract was paralyzed due to the pandemic. “Even so, we continue to provide our tool to the CBF and in 2022 we signed the renewal, which is valid until 2025,” said Méndez.
For the highest football entity, Sportradar offers its services for the national championships and also for the Serie A of the state tournaments. “And since we are contracted by FIFA, all suspicious data in Serie A and B of the Campeonato Brasileiro and Copa do Brasil are reported to FIFA,” he explained.
To the parliamentarians, Méndez stated that “bets on cards, corners or penalties are very small in relation to other markets, such as handicap or 1x2” and that this should not be a vehement concern of the CPI, since the large volume of bets is not on this type of action.
Sportradar's representative was emphatic when saying that the company is not in a position to make suggestions about regulatory aspects per se “nor a way to improve the legislation in each country where we operate.”
He admitted, however, that “from the knowledge we have, we can indicate some paths in order to guarantee sporting integrity. In fact, we recommend good practices in the management of sports and championships, as well as the education of the entire sports ecosystem to combat criminal practices.”
During his testimony, he made it clear that bookmakers are Sportradar's customers, which demonstrates the interest and even the need for results not to be manipulated. Méndez stated that most of the betting on rigged matches takes place at sportsbooks operating in Asia.
For him, “the manipulation of results is a cancer and must be fought on all sides. It's a serious topic that involves criminal organizations against sports and against bookmakers. Education and research must be at the forefront of the work to curb this practice and reinforce that bookmakers are not organizations that manipulate games.”
Source: GMB
