Sportradar reports “notable decline” in match-fixing in 2024  

Sportradar has reported an overall decrease in the number of global match-fixing incidents detected across various sports in 2024.  

The supplier’s annual Integrity in Action report analysed 850,000 sporting fixtures across 70 different sports last year.  

The report revealed 1,108 suspicious matches were detected in 2024, down 17% from the figure recorded in 2023.  

Those suspicious games were derived from 12 different sports in 85 countries, the New York-listed business said.

Although Europe was the most affected region, with 439 suspicious cases detected, that figure had decreased by 229 matches when compared to the previous year.  

Africa also experienced a notable decrease, with 69 suspicious matches flagged in 2024 as opposed to 109 in 2023.  

Both Asia and North America had eight more suspicious matches highlighted in 2024, rising to 310 and 43, respectively.  

The 245 matches flagged in South America marked an increase of 27 matches year on year, while there were two fixtures detected in Oceania for 2024, up from zero in 2023.  

Football continued to be the most flagged sport by a considerable margin, despite the 721 suspicious matches detected representing a decrease of 160 when compared to 2023.  

The report also noted the decrease in suspicious alerts in Brazilian football specifically, which fell 48% to 57 matches flagged in 2024. 

Basketball was next on the list with 187 suspicious alerts during the year, followed by tennis (69), table tennis (41), esports (32), volleyball (29) and cricket (15).  

Futsal (five), beach volleyball (four), handball (three), badminton (one) and ice hockey (one) accounted for the rest of the suspicious alerts.  

Sportradar noted that top- and second-tier domestic competitions were the most affected by match-fixing last year, jointly accounting for 42% of all flags.

The alerts led to 104 sanctions given out to players and teams across seven different sports in 2024, down from 147 in 2023.  

This figure also represented the lowest number of sanctions handed out in a year since 2021 (72).  

Asia was responsible for 82 sanctions, the most of any region, followed by Europe (14), North America (four), South America (three), and Africa (one).  

One of the most notable sanctions following Sportradar’s flagging was the five-year ban of British snooker player Mark King.  

King was fined £68,299 after being found guilty of match-fixing and providing inside information.

Sportradar monitored the year’s sporting fixtures and irregular betting patterns using its Universal Fraud Detection System (UFDS).  

The AI tool is used to flag unusual activity, such as substantial wagers placed on unlikely outcomes.  

Andreas Krannich, executive vice-president of integrity, rights protection and regulatory services at Sportradar, said: “While the notable reduction in suspicious matches in 2024 gives us reason to be optimistic, it also signals the need for continued vigilance and innovation, given that the number remains significant. 

“Our investment in innovation combined with data insights into the betting industry and continued education on integrity are at the forefront of keeping pace with the ever-evolving global sports integrity landscape.  

“We remain committed to refining our methods and capabilities and collaborating across the sports and betting industries to support foundational fair play and safeguard the integrity of sports worldwide.”