In what will be music to the ears of gambling enthusiasts all over the world, the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) has reported that suspicious gambling has plunged in the third quarter of this year.
According to a report released by industry news source Gambling Insider on October 23, the IBIA, an organization that has advocated for licensed betting and more integrity in the space, reported that there were just 50 reports of suspicious gambling activity in Q3 2019.
This figure effectively brings the total number of reports for 2019 to 138. The cumulative figure so far marks a 25 percent drop from the 184 cases reported during the same period last year.
The report for suspicious betting activity reportedly covered six sports (tennis, football, volleyball, basketball, horse racing, and volleyball) and five separate countries.
Illegal gambling continues to slide
The current slump is continuing a familiar trend. Earlier this year, it was reported that there was a massive drop in suspicious gambling alerts in the first three months of 2019. Gambling alerts dropped 26 percent year-on-year at the time, and the number of alerts also dropped by 55 percent from the fourth quarter of 2018.
The trend rolled into Q2 2019, as the IBIA reported a 17 percent drop year-on-year. While the 511 reports filed in Q2 represented a 38 percent increase over the first quarter of the year, there was a lot of hope that a string of declines had begun. The latest report shows this hope was justified.
Per the latest report, the 50 cases reported in the third quarter represents a 30 percent reduction year-on-year, as well as a 2 percent drop from the second quarter of the year as well.
Providing more clarity on the issues, the news medium revealed that 30 of the 50 cases reported were related to tennis, while an additional 15 were reported on football games. Basketball came in third with two alerts, while horse racing, beach volleyball, and table tennis all had one report each.
In terms of location, 21 of all suspicious bets reported originated from Europe, while a further 18 came from Asia. South Africa had five alerts, while North America had just four reports. Two alerts were gotten from Africa. With both of them reportedly from Morocco.
Regulations and inter-agency collaborations
Khalid Ali, the General Secretary of the IBIA, reportedly claimed that the downturn in alerts was rather significant, especially as related to tennis. He added that the sports themselves, as well as the bodies which regulate them, have done their bit to help stem the growth of illegal gambling, and he commended their input.
He added,
“The scope of the association’s unique and global leading monitoring system has been boosted by four new members during 2019, with discussions ongoing with a number of other companies interested in investing in integrity and protecting their businesses from corruption.”
While the collaboration between sports oversight agencies has been a significant contributor to the drop in suspicious reports, regulatory oversight, and tightened laws have also been on the upsurge during the period.
Several countries have been known to impose laws restricting the establishment of gambling outfits without proper licenses, thus ensuring that any outfit to operate in their jurisdictions is properly accounted for. These policies have definitely yielded some fruit.
