Brazil, Ontario and various US states have set a high standard for others to follow in protecting sports integrity according to the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA).

The IBIA, an association of various operators and suppliers within the global betting industry with a focus on protecting sports integrity, has set out its strategic objectives for the next five years.

Christened ‘Mission 2030’, the strategy has started off with a rebrand with a new logo and strapline, “Safeguarding Sports Betting”.

The association states that the global growth of the sports betting industry, with new markets having launched this year and more seemingly on the way in the coming years, has placed a heavier onus on sports integrity.

“As IBIA marks its 20th anniversary, we are not only reflecting on the past, we are also looking ahead to the future,” said Khalid Ali, CEO of the IBIA.

“Our new strategic roadmap charts how we will continue to deliver best in class integrity services to our members, deepen collaboration with our partners, and successfully confront the challenges and opportunities reshaping our industry.”

Sports betting growth, sports integrity challenges

The growth of regulated sports betting across the globe has, as expected, been a lucrative endeavour for many.

H2 Gambling Capital estimated the global industry to have generated US$526bn in 2023 with 7% growth expected in 2024, while the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) put European gross gaming revenue (GGR) at €123bn in 2024.

This has translated into tax revenue. In Brazil, for example, the first six months of the regulated betting market launched on 1 January generated taxes of R$3.8bn (€685m). In Europe, the EGBA reported earlier this year that its members contribute €3.8bn in corporate and gaming tax.

“What we’ve seen over the last 20 years is there’s been growth in new markets opening,” said Khalid Ali said while discussing the organisation’s rebrand with SBC’s iGaming Daily podcast.

“It’s not just Brazil, LatAm in general has started to open up. If you look at North America significantly, of course, the US opened up in 2018 and now Ontario and Canada have also opened up.

“Our job within the International Betting Integrity Association, as well as monitoring and reporting suspicious betting and having those relationships with those stakeholders, like law enforcement and sports. We also need to be working with the regulators and decision makers.”

Cases of athletes breaching betting rules have been seen across multiple markets from the MLB’s Tucupita Marcano in the US to footballers like Ivan Toney in England and various allegations of match fixing in Brazil, with the charges against Lucas Paquetá, which he was cleared of, a big example of this.

While the industry’s growth is undeniably funnelling money into state accounts, it is also presenting new challenges for many governments. Concerns are abounding around the societal impacts of betting, whether on the health and wellbeing of young people, the financially vulnerable, and the integrity of sporting competitions.

The Brazilian government in particular has made protecting sports integrity a priority, as has the government of Ontario, the only regulated gaming market in Canada – until Alberta opens its doors next year anyway.

“What Brazil and Ontario have done is extremely important, because they’ve made it a requirement that if you are an operator in that jurisdiction, you need to be part of an international monitoring system,” Ali explained to iGaming Daily.

“Now it’s not just Brazil and Ontario. The US, and many of the US states, also have this requirement. If you look closer to home for me, in Europe, you can look at the Netherlands as one of those other jurisdictions where there is this requirement.

“This requirement is absolutely fundamental. I believe in protecting the sports betting market.”

Looking past headlines

The above mentioned examples of betting breaches by athletes understandably got a lot of press attention, including from SBC.

The case involving Marcano was huge in the US, with the MLB banning the infielder for life, while the betting charges against Ivan Toney were widely rumoured to be a key reason behind the decision not to include him in the England team.

Ali emphasised, however, that the overall impact of match manipulation on football remains low, and despite the flashy headlines it should not be overblown. IBIA’s own stats show that its members offered bets on 950,000 football matches between 2017-2023, with no integrity concerns around 99.96% of these.

“I think that’s important because we shouldn’t make it into something bigger than it’s not – but it’s an issue, it’s important, and we need to deal with it, and that’s why an association like ours has been created,” he said.

For IBIA, there are three key integrity challenges facing betting and sports right now – the ‘organised networks’ exploiting poorly regulated or unregulated markets, weak sports governance which enables such activities, and the issue of clear education, or in some cases the lack of it.

For its Mission 2030, the IBIA has set itself three core goals. Firstly, the group wants to strengthen its Global Monitoring and Alert Platform (Global MAP) to better detect suspicious betting and support investigations.

Secondly, it aims to secure more partnerships across its global integrity system and strengthen and broaden existing ones. Lastly, the IBIA wants to encourage better regulation, policy and education to ensure prevention programmes remain on top form.

Summarising the IBIA’s objectives, Ali said: “To achieve our ambitions, we need to evolve and that starts with the way we present ourselves. More than just a visual update, our new brand is a key building block of Mission 2030. It reflects not just who we are today, but where we are heading tomorrow.”