Sports integrity Archives

November 24, 2023

Slovenian tennis official banned for betting on matches and data manipulation

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has banned Slovenian tennis official Marko Ducman for more than a decade after he was found to have wagered on matches.

Ducman is banned from officiating at or attending any tennis event authorised by ITIA members. The ban runs for 10 years and six months, until 7 March 2034.

The ITIA said that Ducman breached its Tennis Anti-Corruption Programme (TACP) by betting on tennis matches. He was also found to have manipulated data from matches in which he was an official to facilitate betting.

Ducman is an international-level and bronze-badge official who has officiated at ITF, ATP and WTA tournaments. He admitted to four breaches of the TACP, co-operated fully with the ITIA investigation and accepted an agreed sanction.

The official also waived his right to a hearing before an independent anti-corruption hearing officer. He has been suspended since 8 September 2023, with the ban being backdated to this date.

In addition, Ducman will pay..

November 13, 2023

ITIA bans seven Belgian tennis players for match-fixing

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has issued bans to seven Belgian players after a court ruled they were involved with a match-fixing syndicate in the country.

All seven players were found in breach of the ITIA Tennis Anti-Corruption Programme (TACP). As a result of their involvement in tennis match-fixing, they will serve bans of various lengths.

The players in question are Arnaud Graisse, Arthur de Greef, Julien Dubail, Romain Barbosa, Maxime Authom, Omar Salman and Alec Witmeur. All were convicted by a criminal court in Belgium and agreed sanctions with the ITIA.

The case relates to a Belgian match-fixing syndicate led by Grigor Sargsyan. The recent criminal case led to the conviction of Sargsyan, who was handed a five-year custodial sentence.

Described by the Washington Post as “the man who built the biggest match-fixing ring in tennis”, Sargsyan had traversed the globe since 2018 to build a network of more than 180 professional players across five continents.
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October 30, 2023

PGA Tour suspends US golfers over betting rule breaches

Golf’s PGA Tour has suspended players Vince India and Jake Staiano for breaching its rules on betting on the sport.

India and Staiano were both found to have placed bets on PGA Tour tournaments. The PGA Tour Integrity Programme states players cannot wager on any professional golf competition or event.

The PGA Tour confirmed neither player bet on competitions in which they were competing. It is not clear what events they bet on, nor the type of wagers that were placed.

India will now serve a six-month suspension from PGA Tour-sanctioned events. This is being backdated to 18 September and will run through to 17 March next year.

Staiano’s three-month suspension from PGA Tour-sanctioned competitions runs from 11 September until 10 December.

The PGA Tour says it has no further comment on the suspensions at this time.

India is a 34-year-old player from the US who turned professional back in 2011. His current Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) is 936.

Staiano, also of the US, is aged ..

October 27, 2023

NHL issues first sports betting ban to Ottawa Senators star Pinto

The National Hockey League (NHL) has issued a 41-match ban to Ottawa Senators player Shane Pinto for violating its rules on sports betting.

Pinto becomes the first NHL player to be banned for betting on sports since the repeal of PASPA in mid-2018. New York-born Pinto has played for the Senators since joining the team from college in 2021.

The NHL did not disclose full details of the case, except that it linked to “activities relating to sports wagering”. League policy states players are not allowed to wager on NHL games but can bet on activities outside the league.

However, the NHL said there is no evidence Pinto bet on any NHL game. As such, it is unclear as to what Pinto actually wagered on and why he has been banned.

“The NHL considers this matter closed,” the league says. “Absent the emergence of new information, we will have no further comment.

Pinto also released a statement on the matter, issuing an apology for his actions.

“I want to apologise to the NHL, the Ottawa Se..

October 20, 2023

AS Roma backs El Shaarawy and Zalewski over illegal betting allegations

Italian Serie A football club AS Roma has come out in support of two of its players caught up in the ongoing illegal betting row in the country.

Reports have emerged suggesting Stephan El Shaarawy and Nicola Zalewski have taken part in illegal gambling activities. Both players currently play their club football with AS Roma.

The players have both denied the allegations in separate statements. AS Roma has now also put out its own statement backing the accounts of both El Shaarawy and Zalewski.

“In reference to the rumours spread in recent days regarding the alleged involvement of some of its members in the investigation relating to football betting, AS Roma expresses its full support towards Nicola Zalewski and Stephan El Shaarawy, victims of repeated speculation that have unfairly damaged the image,” AS Roma said.

“The club has total faith in Nicola and Stephan when they say they have nothing to do with this matter.”

El Shaarawy was included in the most recent Italian national tea..

October 18, 2023

IBIA reports 50 suspicious betting alerts in Q3

The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) reported 50 suspicious betting alerts in the third quarter, with football and tennis accounting for more than half of these.

The figure is level with the 50 alerts sent by the IBIA during Q2 of 2023. It was also lower than the 148 alerts reported in Q3 last year.

Football and tennis collectively accounted for 56% of all alerts sent in Q3. Tennis drew a total of 15 during the quarter and football 13.

Some eight alerts in Q3 related to table tennis, seven for darts and three for esports. The IBIA also saw two alerts for betting on bowls and one each for basketball and greyhound racing.

Of all alerts, 43 related to male-only events, three for women’s events, three for mixed gender and one for an animal sporting event – greyhound racing.

Europe draws 30 IBIA alerts in Q3

As for the location of alerts, Europe led the way with a total of 30 alerts during Q3. Of these, 11 came from the UK: seven in relation to darts, two for bowls..

October 16, 2023

Juventus contacts Italian FA over Fagioli betting reports

Italian Serie A football club Juventus has contacted the country’s football association over reports that one of its players, Nicolò Fagioli, is embroiled in a dispute over betting.

Reports have emerged that several Italian players, including Fagioli, have allegedly placed bets through an unauthorised gambling website.

Sandro Tonali of Newcastle United in the English Premier League and Nicolò Zaniolo, on loan at Premier League team Aston Villa from Turkish Süper Lig club Galatasaray, were the two players initially named in the case. Allegations of Fagioli’s involvement came to light soon after.

Shortly after reports emerged, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) said two players had been sent home from national team duty. Tonali and Zaniolo are now back training with their respective clubs.

The FIGC did not say why the pair had been sent home. However, it did state that it was in relation to an investigation by the Turin Public Prosecutor’s Office. Media reports say this investig..

October 10, 2023

IBIA pens sports betting integrity partnership with IXUP

The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) has entered into a sports betting integrity partnership with data security and analysis business IXUP.

Under the deal, IBIA and IXUP will explore integrity-compliance products and services for the US market. This includes developing solutions to support operators, regulators and sports governing bodies.

IBIA will promote IXUP’s PlayPause encryption matching network to US member operators. PlayPause is a pilot scheme aggregating state voluntary exclusion lists and sports involuntary exclusion lists into a single real-time API.

In return, IXUP will promote IBIA’s integrity monitoring solution through its relationships with existing US clients. These include sports betting operators, regulators, sports leagues and teams.

Both parties may explore complementary services for other entities in the sports wagering ecosystem. These include sports governing bodies and teams.

IBIA is licensed across the US while IXUP operates BetStop, th..

September 26, 2023

ITIA hands provisional suspension to French tennis player Broville

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has provisionally suspended French tennis player Maxence Broville for breaching its anti-corruption rules.

Broville has not been able to compete in or attend any sanctioned tennis events since 20 June this year. However, the ITIA has only now confirmed the suspension, pending the full consideration of Tennis Anti-Corruption Programme (TACP) charges.

The ITIA says the suspension is in relation to Sections F.3.b.i.1 and F.3.b.i.4 of the TACP. Section F.3.b.i.1 references how a covered person has failed to “comply with a demand”.

Section F.3.b.i.4 sets out the breach in more detail, stating there is a likelihood the player is guilty of a “major offence”.

“In the absence of a provisional suspension, the integrity of tennis would be undermined and the harm resulting from the absence of a provisional suspension outweighs the hardship of the provisional suspension on the covered person,” the section says.

Broville appealed against the im..

September 14, 2023

FA hands suspended ban to Forest’s Toffolo over betting breaches

The English Football Association (FA) has issued a suspended five-month ban to Nottingham Forest defender Harry Toffolo after he admitted to 375 breaches of its betting rules.

The ban is suspended to the end of the 2024-25 season. Toffolo is also being fined £20,956 (€24,374/$26,202) over the case.

Toffolo was charged in July for allegedly placing bets on football matches between 22 January 2014 and 18 March 2017.

FA Rule E8 says players, match officials or coaches must not bet, either directly or indirectly, on any matters related to football anywhere in the world. Toffolo had been given until 19 July to respond to the charges.

The 28-year-old represented Premier League club Forest in 2022. He was playing for several clubs on loan during the period highlighted by the FA.

Loaned out by Norwich City, he played for Swindon Town, Rotherham United, Peterborough United and Scunthorpe United. All these clubs play in the lower leagues, outside the top-tier Premier League.

Toffolo has on..

September 11, 2023

IBIA pens betting integrity deal with Buenos Aires regulator

The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) has entered into a partnership with the Lotería de la Ciudad, the public entity that regulates sports betting in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires.

Under the memorandum of understanding, IBIA will support Lotería de la Ciudad with sports betting integrity in its regulated market.

The two parties will exchange technical knowledge and information related to the integrity of sports and betting. This will be used to improve fraud control and prevention in the city’s market.

Buenos Aires opened its legal internet sports betting market in December 2021. The city also launched legal online gambling at the same time.

“IBIA is delighted to have reached an agreement with the Lotería de la Ciudad to work collaboratively to protect sports, consumers and the regulated betting market from match-fixing,” IBIA CEO Khalid Ali said.

“The association and its members will analyse the betting on their global markets. We will also work closely ..

August 23, 2023

Sportradar scores betting data deal with US Soccer

Sportradar has entered into a global partnership with US Soccer, the national governing body for the sport, covering exclusive rights to betting data and content distribution.

Under the deal, Sportradar becomes US Soccer’s official betting data partner. Sportradar will have exclusive rights to collect, licence and distribute the federation’s official betting and media data.

The agreement enables Sportradar to provide the data to its global network of more than 900 regulated betting operators.

Sportradar also takes exclusive distribution rights for the live AV streaming of US Soccer competitions for betting purposes. This will only be available outside of the US.

The deal covers more than 111 matches per year across US men’s and women’s national team competitions.

Sportradar and US Soccer will also collaborate on the development of bespoke data-driven solutions. This is with the aim of deepening existing fan relationships, attracting and engaging new supporters and increasing oppo..

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Tag: Sports integrity