Sportradar Integrity Services, a unit of global sports technology giant Sportradar, has identified more than 1,100 suspicious sports matches since the global pandemic began in April 2020, with 655 of those matches detected in the first nine months of 2021.
In reaction to this, Sportradar has decided to offer its Universal Fraud Detection System (UFDS) for free to sports federations, sports leagues, and state authorities around the world as part of its continued commitment to protecting the integrity of global sport and making the system accessible to all.
In the last 18 months, Sportradar’s UFDS has detected suspicious activity in 12 different sports across more than 70 countries worldwide.
Its figures show soccer is the sport most at risk of betting-related corruption, with more than 500 suspicious matches detected in 2021. Approximately 40% of the suspicious activities reported within domestic soccer competitions come from third-tier leagues and below, including youth level, as fixers increase their attention on lower-level matches.
Andreas Krannich, Managing Director, Integrity Services, commented: “As our analysis shows, match-fixing is evolving, and those behind it are diversifying their approach, both in the sports and competitions they target, and the way they make approaches to athletes, such as the rise in digital approaches.
“To help address this, Sportradar has made a significant investment to make it possible to offer the UFDS for free to global sports organizations and leagues. The reason for this is that we are committed to supporting the sustainability of global sports and using data and technology for good.”
Esports’ rising popularity has made it a target for fixers and has led to a rapid increase in the number of suspicious matches reported. Over 70 suspicious matches have been detected by the UFDS since April last year across five different game titles, with more than 40 of those suspicious matches identified since January this year.
Sportradar’s UFDS has also detected suspicious activity in Tennis: 37 matches; Basketball: 19; Table Tennis: 11; Ice Hockey: nine; Cricket: six, while suspicious activity has also been identified in Volleyball, Handball, and Beach Volleyball.
Globally, the UFDS has detected 382 suspicious matches in Europe so far in 2021, with Latin America recording 115 suspicious matches, followed by the Asia Pacific region with 74, Africa with 43, 10 in the Middle East, and nine in North America.
