The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA), the leading global authority on integrity in the licensed betting sector, has released its latest industry report, noting a slight increase in suspicious matches. According to the IBIA’s latest report, the number of alerts increased to 63 suspicious betting alerts in the first quarter of 2025, with football accounting for the highest percentage.
Highlights from the Q1 2025 report
The IBIA is an organisation that represents the integrity interests of the licensed sports betting industry worldwide. With over 80 members and 140 betting brands under its belt, the association is a massive force, overseeing over $300 billion in annual betting turnover. It encompasses 50 percent of all regulated commercial online betting activity and 30 percent of all regulated betting across both retail and online platforms.
IBIA a total of 63 suspicious betting alerts in the first quarter of 2025. This marks an 11 percent increase compared to Q1 2024, but a slight 3 percent drop compared to Q4 2024.
Football and tennis continue to dominate the alert charts. These two sports were responsible for 40 of the 63 alerts, an increase of 14 percent from the previous quarter. On the flip side, table tennis saw a dramatic drop, from 21 alerts in Q4 2024 to just 9 in Q1 2025, a whopping 53 percent decrease.
Regional distribution of alerts
The highest number of alerts were recorded in North America, totalling 17. Of these, nine were for football betting in Mexico, six for basketball betting in the US, and two for football betting in Jamaica.
Europe registered 15 alerts, with nine related to table tennis—seven in the Czech Republic and two in Germany. Other alerts in Europe were spread across basketball, football, and horse racing.
South America saw 11 alerts, with nine for football betting in Brazil, making it the joint-highest for a single country alongside Mexico. Single alerts for football and tennis were noted in Ecuador and Argentina, respectively.
Africa had six alerts, all related to football, with Ivory Coast accounting for three, and one each in Algeria, Burundi, and Tunisia. No alerts were reported in Australasia, but the IBIA raised four global esports alerts, which cannot be allocated to specific countries due to the unclear hosting locations of events.
CEO Khalid Ali’s welcomes reduction
IBIA CEO Khalid Ali described the Q1 results as relatively consistent with past trends while acknowledging ongoing risks in football and tennis. He highlighted progress in tackling alerts, especially in tennis.
Tennis has long been a sore spot when it comes to betting integrity. The sport has seen several high-profile match-fixing cases over the years. Thankfully, tennis alerts have decreased, a trend Ali called a welcome reduction.
Ali said, “The quarter-on-quarter reduction was primarily due to a fall in tennis alerts, which have shown a welcome reduction in recent years. The Q4 2024 increase in table tennis alerts has not continued into Q1 2025 and has fallen back to previous levels. IBIA has taken increased precautions regarding this sport. We have agreed on several new integrity partnerships and protocols in Q1 with the aim of detecting and sanctioning corrupt betting activity.”
