By Paul Nicholson
August 6 – In the fight against match-fixing CONCACAF has extended its agreements with sports betting monitoring companies Sportradar and FIFA EWS for the 2014-15 competition period.
CONCACAF has been working with FIFA EWS since 2013, and Sportradar since 2012. The new agreement will cover all CONCACAF competitions as well as UNCAF – central America – and Caribbean Football Union qualifiers for the Gold Cup. Some international friendlies will also be covered.
Both companies track the betting markets using their own software, looking for irregularities in betting patterns. The systems work in-play and compare the movements on the betting markets with the course of action in the match and the final result.
Sportradar Security Services operates its Fraud Detection System (FDS) for several Confederations, including the AFC and UEFA, as well as working with law enforcement agencies.
“Monitoring the betting market is just one measure to detect irregularities in the games. It is just the first alarm and further investigations are always necessary in order to evaluate if the irregularity is linked to a manipulation or not,” said CONCACAF head of integrity Dr Laila Mintas. “But it is very important for us to use all tools which are available in order to fight match manipulation with zero tolerance.”
Mintas, who is a sports lawyer by trade, said: “Reports delivered by the monitoring systems can be used as an indication in proceedings before court or internal disciplinary proceedings by sport organisations. The monitoring experts may be heard as expert witnesses in these proceedings.
“Monitoring all our competition should be seen as a warning shot and act as a powerful deterrent to any potential match-fixer.”
Andreas Krannich, Sportradar’s Managing Director Strategy and Integrity, said: “Sportradar have been working closely with CONCACAF since 2012 and we are delighted that they have placed their trust in us and in our Fraud Detection System yet again…They have shown an ongoing commitment to achieving and promoting sporting integrity in all its guises.”
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