GLMS report shows decrease in suspicious betting alerts in 2021

Of these alerts 85 were sent to football governing bodies, with 46 going to FIFA and 39 going to UEFA. The remaining 31 were shared between the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Swiss Gambling Supervisory Authority (GESPA) and the International Tennis Integrity Association (ITIA).

In total, 1,402 alerts – including those not sent to partners – were generated in 2021. 75.1% of these alerts – 1,053 – came before a match started. Some 82 alerts came during play and 267 came post-match. The alerts were categorised as green, yellow or red depending on their severity.

In total 747 alerts were green, relating to factors including team news, member information, an incorrect starting price or minor odds changes. Then 331 alerts were yellow, resultant of unexplained odds changes or rumours of match fixing before the fact. There were 91 red alerts last year, up from 86 in 2020. These could be caused by suspicious odds changes, rumours of match-fixing from a named source and Betfair exchange volume and patterns.

Most of the alerts concerned sporting fixtures in Europe, where 716 alerts were generated. From Asia there were 301 alerts, 212 from South America, 51 from Africa and another 41 from North America.

Football continued to be the sport to generate the most alerts, with 1,005. Basketball followed with 167, with esports adding a further 121. Tennis generated 44 alerts, while ice hockey was responsible for 46.

Team-related news was the most common reason for triggering alert, with GLMS recording 367 instances where that was the case. In all 279 alerts related to significant odds changes, while 230 cases were requests by members.

GLMS president Ludovico Calvi believes the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic has played a part in the rate of alerts.

Calvi said: “The sport ecosystem has never been so vulnerable as today and this makes match fixing one the greatest problems in modern sport. I strongly believe that we have been able to set very solid foundations to drive the success of our association in the titanic fight against match fixing and to protect sports integrity worldwide.

“I am fully convinced that GLMS represents a tremendous vehicle not only for our Association and its members but also for all other key interested stakeholders, our communities and our society as a whole.”