Compared to 2022, global data indicates that the rate of suspicion of manipulation in all sports remained stable at 0.21%, or one in every 467 games in 2023. Similarly, the analysis did not mark any sport with a proportion of suspicious games higher than 1%, confirming that 99.5% of monitored sporting events had no detected suspicious betting.
The Sportradar study, which can be downloaded here, points out that Brazil continues to lead the world ranking, with 109 suspicious cases, despite a 29% reduction (44 suspicious matches) compared to 2022. In the country, 118 competitions were monitored, covering approximately 9,000 matches. Of these, 15 matches were played in CBF tournaments, while the rest involved games organized by state federations.
Artificial Intelligence helped detect almost 3/4 (73% or 977 instances) of all suspicious correspondences in 2023, representing a 123% increase compared to 2022.
Although the integration of AI into Sportradar's Universal Fraud Detection System (UFDS) has boosted detection rates, analysis by the company's integrity experts is essential to ensure accurate interpretation of the data. Sportradar is committed to enhancing AI capabilities and human oversight to protect the integrity of sports.
Key findings in 2023
As the world's most popular sport for betting, football continued to be the most affected by match manipulation, with 880 suspicious games, followed by basketball with 205 games, and then table tennis with 70 games.
Information collected at the account level, with access to betting tickets, was used to detect 85% of suspicious volleyball matches and 100% of suspicious tennis and table tennis matches, highlighting the importance of close collaboration with the sports betting industry to combat match manipulation and threats to integrity.
Europe had the highest number of suspicious games (667 vs. 630 in 2022), followed by Asia (302 vs. 240 in 2022) and South America (217 vs. 225 in 2022). Brazil accounted for half of the cases in LatAm, with 109 matches.
1,295 suspicious games came from men's sports events, while 34 came from women's events.
Data and reports from Sportradar Integrity Services last year contributed to a total of 147 sporting and criminal sanctions, covering 39 cases in 10 sports from 23 countries, proving the company's credentials as an established market leader in integrity services. By supporting over 220 partners worldwide, including sports organizations, state authorities, national platforms, and law enforcement agencies, Sportradar is committed to keeping sports free from threats such as match manipulation, doping, and other forms of fraud and corruption.
Andreas Krannich, Executive Vice President of Integrity, Rights Protection, and Regulatory Services at Sportradar, stated: "Continued investment in technology development is critical to detecting instances of match manipulation that would be difficult to find otherwise. In combination with access to account-level data, collaboration across the entire industry and human experts, we have a powerful set of tools to help prevent and detect risks to sports integrity.”
“Further advancements in the fight against match manipulation will be possible as AI models continue to learn, and we continue to refine our expertise to protect sports from manipulation."
Sportradar adopts a holistic and multifaceted approach to match manipulation detection, powered by its market-leading technology and specialized Integrity Services unit. In addition to account-level data with access to betting tickets, the UFDS analyzes 30 billion odds changes at 600 global betting operators in real-time and uses advanced AI to detect and flag suspicious matches for Sportradar's global team of integrity analysts.
Supporting this effort is the Sportradar Integrity Exchange (SIE), where more than 70 betting operators proactively submit information on suspicious betting, using account-level betting data to detect and flag suspicious games.
Sportradar Group AG, founded in 2001, is a leading global sports technology company that creates immersive experiences for sports fans and bettors. Positioned at the intersection of sports, media, and betting industries, the company provides sports federations, press, consumer platforms, and sports betting operators with a range of solutions to help grow their businesses.
As a trusted partner of organizations such as ATP, NBA, NHL, MLB, NASCAR, UEFA, FIFA, and Bundesliga, Sportradar covers over a million events annually across all major sports. With significant industry relationships and sector experience, Sportradar is not only redefining the sports fan experience; it is also protecting sports through its Integrity Services division and advocating for an integrity-focused environment for all involved.
Source: GMB
