Betting Firms Score Big in Russian World Cup
by Glenn Baird - August 14, 2018
This year’s most coveted sporting prize has left the bookies with plenty to smile about.
An estimated 136bn Euros in turnover was generated by betting firms during the summer tournament, with FIFA claiming that there was no evidence of suspicious betting patterns or behaviour.
Since February 2017 FIFA, have been working with Sportrader, using their Fraud Detection System, which can monitor up to 550 betting firms worldwide, to analyse betting behaviour and patterns in an attempt to strengthen their reputation and integrity after years of financial scandal and alleged corruption.
At the time of the deal, FIFA President, Gianni Infantino stated that, “Preserving the integrity of the game is paramount to Fifa.”
“Given that match manipulation is still a serious concern for everyone who loves the game, Fifa will work with Sportradar, the global leader in match manipulation, detection and prevention, to invigorate and enhance our integrity programme.
“Fifa is committed to tackling match manipulation and protecting the integrity of football for players and fans.”
FIFA, clearly wanting to highlight the deal and the perceived transparency that it brings released its findings on the World Cup earlier last week, along with the caveat that “no match manipulation behaviour was detected.”
Further to the staggering figure, FIFA have also confirmed that roughly 2.1bn Euros on each match, with the final pulling in over double that with an estimated 7.2bn Euros in turnover being generated for sports betting firms.