The latest report released by Sportradar, a global leader in understanding and leveraging the power of sports data and digital content, presents an interesting overview of the integrity of sports competitions in 2023. Monitoring close to 850,000 sports events spanning across 70 different sports, Sportradar detected a total of 1,329 suspicious events throughout 11 sports. This figure might initially suggest an uptick in the number of dubious activities; however, the rate of suspected match manipulation has held steady at 0.21%, thanks to the incorporation of enhanced artificial intelligence (AI) facilities. A roughly equivalent manipulation rate of one in 467 matches echoes the previous year’s figure, which stood at one in every 473 events.
In striking contrast to the concerns around match integrity, 99.5% of the events observed showed no signs of suspicious betting activity, mirroring last year’s reassuring findings. Moreover, no sport recorded a suspicious match ratio exceeding 1%. Football and basketball, as anticipated by Sportradar’s past insights, were at the forefront of these detections with 880 and 205 suspicious matches, respectively. Following closely behind on this less enviable list was table tennis with 70 shady events underscored.
The diligence of Sportradar’s integrity operations has led to 147 sanctions of a sporting or criminal nature across 10 sports and 23 countries. A remarkable case in this balance sheet involved the sanctioning of 10 snooker players on charges related to match-fixing. This illustrates the reach and ramifications of Sportradar’s monitoring efforts.
Andreas Krannich, the driving force of integrity, rights protection, and regulatory services as Sportradar’s executive vice president spoke on the matter. He emphasized the critical role of technological investment in uncovering the subtle occurrences of match-fixing that might otherwise remain undetected. Krannich expressed confidence in the advancements of AI models which are continually learning, promising an even more robust measure against the corruption of sports.
Geographically, Asia observed the most significant hike in suspicious events, marking a notable change in trend from the previous year. Europe followed with an increase as well but retained the dubious distinction of leading in the number of detections, with 667 occurrences in contrast to Asia’s 302.
A significant point of focus in the report was the country-specific data, with Brazil emerging as a mixed case study. Despite experiencing a decrease of 44 suspicious match detections from last year, Brazil still topped the chart with 109 detections throughout the year. It marked the country’s first reduction since 2020, accentuating a 29% overall drop in suspicious events when comparing annual data.
Drilling down, we observe that 40% of all suspicious matches were confined to the top 10 countries most impacted by match-fixing. Of these, football was implicated in 71.5% of cases, and basketball was involved in 17.5%.
In 2023, Sportradar’s AI was responsible for unearthing 977 dubious matches, reflecting a stunning 123% increase from the previous year, showcasing the evolving effectiveness of the company’s technological capabilities. AI played an integral role in determining 73% of all dubious matches in that year, illustrating the tool’s growing influence.
Such technical enhancements have been integrated into Sportradar’s Universal Fraud Detection System (UFDS), handing analysts real-time access to AI-assisted data pools. This resulted in improved response times, better quality, and heightened accuracy of detection.
The report’s highlights included Sportradar extending its partnership with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). This ongoing collaboration, aimed at safeguarding the integrity of the sport, began in 2013 and is now set to continue from 2024 to 2027, encapsulating a joint effort against match-fixing in the football sphere.
AFC president, Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, welcomed the extended arrangement, acknowledging the palpable contribution it has already made to combat match-fixing in Asian football. With Sportradar’s proven track record in maintaining the credibility of sports competitions, it is clear that their vigilant watch and innovative measures against corruption continue to be invaluable in the endeavour to protect the sanctity of sports.
