In a further enhancement of its North American operations, Sportradar has secured a deal between its Sportradar Integrity Services (SIS) division and the Canadian Hockey League (CHL).

The multi-year partnership will focus on integrity and education and the provision of bet monitoring services to the tournament – which is the world’s largest development league and a key supplier competition to the National Hockey League (NHL).

By linking with the CHL – Sportradar’s ninth professional ice hockey partner – the firm moves to bolster its standing in North America as the betting and gaming industry continues to roll out, with Canadian markets such as the province of Ontario predicted to experience high wagering turnover.

So far, the Swiss-based sports technology and data company’s North American activities have seen it list on the the New York Nasdaq Stock Exchange with the backing of prominent sportsman Michael Jordan, and enter into data and integrity partnerships with a range of professional sports organisations. 

Andy Cunningham, Director, Global Partnerships, Sportradar Integrity Services, said: “By engaging Sportradar, a leader in providing integrity services, the CHL is putting itself in a strong position to protect the integrity of their competitions as well as educate and inform all their key stakeholders about potential risks within a sports betting environment.

“As new sports betting markets open up across North America, we look forward to supporting the CHL through our best-in-class products and services.”

Under the terms of the deal, SIS will monitor matches across the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League, and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, the three member leagues of the CHL, using its Universal Fraud Detection System (UFDS).

Additionally, Sportradar will provide the league with an integrity audit and the services of its Intelligence and Investigation team, whilst offering eLearning tutorials on the importance of integrity in multiple languages to key CHL staff and stakeholders, including teams and both adult and junior players. 

“The CHL is committed to continuing the education of our players and the integrity of the game they play,” added Dan MacKenzie, CHL President. “We are excited to sign this agreement with Sportradar Integrity Services. The provision of their bet monitoring and education services will only further strengthen our current integrity measures. 

“The CHL is fully committed to protecting all of our league-wide stakeholders from the threat of match-fixing, and Sportradar’s eLearning tutorial will be integral to ensure they are fully equipped with the necessary knowledge and understanding of how best to recognize and react to integrity threats.”