By Paul Nicholson
September 11 – Betting industry integrity body ESSA has signed an information sharing agreement with CONCACAF, the only hook-up for the online sportsbook organisation with a football confederation. ESSA already has agreements with FIFA and a number of national federations including the English FA and Germany’s DFB.
A key weapon in the fight against match-fixing has become an increasingly global sharing of information, and this lies at the heart of this agreement. But where this relationship differs from the betting monitoring organisations like Sportradar and FIFA’s Early Warning System (EWS), is that with ESSA, CONCACAF is working directly with the betting industry (rather than through a third-party).
While Sportradar and EWS evaluate data via agreements with about 400 bookmakers each, ESSA runs it own system for its members (generally the largest bookmakers) and will inform CONCACAF directly of betting irregularities, including more detailed information for their investigations.
ESSA also monitors other sports as well as football. “Because the same criminals might be active in fixing in different sports, it is good to have a partner who monitors those sports. ESSA will now inform us directly about any irregularities they detect. They will provide us with information which we can use for our investigations – this is key for us,” said CONCACAF head of integrity Dr Laila Mintas.
The second part of the cooperation is to discourage and prevent employees in the football business (clubs, leagues and federations that fall under the rule of the confederation) from betting on football – now prohibited under the recently agreed CONCACAF Code of Ethics. ESSA has access to account details and individuals working within the game can be identified through these registered accounts.
The concern here is that bettors use their insider information when placing their bets. Insider information is broadly defined as information received because of a person’s position in football which is not publicly available, for example pre-match playing formations and tactics.
“This partnership agreement with CONCACAF sends a clear and forceful message to match-fixers and further highlights the determination of ESSA’s regulated operators and responsible sporting bodies such as CONCACAF to work together to address a common threat to both of our sectors,” said Khalid Ali, Secretary General of ESSA.
“CONCACAF follows a multi-step approach in the fight against match-fixing in order be able to prevent, detect, investigate, and respond to potential cases with zero tolerance. Cooperation and coordination with all other stakeholders is integral to CONCACAF’s strategy. The sports betting industry is an important partner in that fight. Building an efficient partnership with the betting industry’s integrity body is therefore very essential” said Mintas.
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