Sportradar has revealed that Brazil is expected to lose its global leadership in the ranking of countries with the most suspected match-fixing games, after two consecutive years at the top. This projection is based on the number of incidents reported in 2024 so far, from January to October.
Brazil has seen a 45% decrease in the number of suspicious games compared to the same period last year. This is according to Sportradar, a sports integrity and technology company that partners with 15 state federations, CBF, Conmebol, UEFA, and FIFA.
The CBF has also identified a reduction in the receipt of reports of suspicious games in 2024, by up to 65%.
Clubs, federations, CBF, and betting companies have adopted different practices for the prevention and combat of match-fixing. However, it is still too early to say that the reduction is entirely a direct consequence of this movement, according to experts in the field. There is still much to be done.
“Like almost every crime, manipulators look for the biggest gains with the least risks. We have some factors: greater visibility of cases, CPI, regulation of the betting market, investigations,” explained Felippe Marchetti, director of integrity at Sportradar in Brazil.
"We have specific actions, with aware players, educational initiatives, training platforms. The more detailed reports to the federations also help because they bring a lot of data that aids investigations. All this deters manipulators,” he said.
State federations are coordinating efforts
Brazil finished in first place in this ranking in 2022 and 2023, with 152 and 109 cases, respectively. There was a 29% reduction from one year to the next, but the country remained in the global lead. It seems that it will leave this position by the end of 2024.
A suspicious game is any that shows "conclusive evidence" of result fixing or credible signs of manipulation. In Brazil, most cases occurred in football.
These games are concentrated in regional competitions, from the second division or lower, organized by state federations. Different federations have sought, individually or together, to promote measures to prevent and combat match-fixing. Today, 15 states have their games monitored with complete reports, and 12 do not.
The Alagoas Football Federation (FAF) held a meeting with captains, coaches, and club directors from the Second Division before the state championship, which began in September. These clubs have access to an educational platform about the risks of involvement with betting and match-fixing.
The state had seven suspicious games of manipulation in the 2023 Alagoas Cup, and another possible one in this year's second division (still under investigation). When the federation receives any suspicion, it forwards it to the local sports justice court, to the CBF, and to the police authorities.
“We are trying to expand this, initiatives other than just for manipulation. We talk with other federations about how to adopt other preventive measures. We can't create a list of suspected athletes and forward it. There are discussions about defense mechanisms, but there are legal issues that prevent taking certain actions,” explained Felipe Feijó, president of the Alagoas Football Federation.
The Minas Gerais Football Federation (FMF) approached this year the Special Group for Combating Organized Crime of the Public Prosecutor's Office of Minas Gerais (Gaeco-MPMG) to exchange and receive information on suspicions of manipulation. It is now part of an "intelligence system," along with police authorities.
With this, the federation can better identify alert points, such as when the management of a football club is outsourced. The FMF also provided training for the Court of Sports Justice. And the entity included in its monitoring contract with Sportradar that it itself can trigger the scanning for suspicious bets.
“The first thing is intelligence, not just chasing after. We can know in advance the games that may have manipulation. In that game of Patrocinense, for Serie D, we already knew there would be an attempt, and we passed it to CBF, Sportradar, and the Federal Police. People need to be trained for this problem. We are committed to integrity. We had a very large reduction in possible occurrences,” said Gabriel Cunha, director of competitions at FMF.
Actions to educate
The next step, scheduled for early next year, is to offer clubs and athletes in MG awareness about the betting market: what is allowed or not, possible punishments, etc.
The Santa Catarina Football Federation (FCF) launched a booklet with guidelines and closed a partnership with the federations of Rio Grande do Sul and Paraná for the educational platform of Sportradar. The Court of Sports Justice of Santa Catarina had a workshop on such cases. The Santa Catarina federation sealed in 2024 an agreement with the bet "Rei do Pitaco", for three years, for the monitoring of adult competitions.
“The monitoring provides information about any level of suspicion or irregularity, or concentration of bets on a certain odd or match. It automatically identifies and informs in real time, then the federation makes the decision at the moment, even to annul the match. We had no suspicious process this year and we don't want to have any,” reported Rubens Renato Angelotti, president of the FCF.
Players unaware of restrictions
Clubs from Serie A of the Brazilian Championship promoted in recent months actions to prevent match-fixing. Palmeiras and Atlético-MG had lectures in September where players received information about real cases, risks, and consequences.
“We had done this training last year, and we want to do at least one per year. We try to detail the nuances for the players, the issue of relationships with friends, family, people around them. The initiative was very well received by the squad. They had many questions, asked many questions. It demystifies the idea that football is oblivious. Players are interested in knowing more. There is a failure of our industry not to educate,” commented Fernando Monfardini, manager of compliance, privacy, and ESG at Atlético-MG.
Education is considered the main pillar in the fight against match-fixing, by tackling the issue of prevention.
Athletico-PR held a workshop in May, focused on education and protection of athletes against corruption, in partnership with Genius Sports, another company in the field of sports technology and integrity. The company serves the Premier League, the German Football Federation (DFB), the Argentine Football Association (AFA), the Brazilian Volleyball Confederation (CBV), and the New Basketball Brazil (NBB).
Leader of the Brasileirão, Botafogo held a similar meeting in June, also with Genius, with athletes from the main squad and the base. The meeting also addressed the dangers related to betting.
The owner of Botafogo, businessman John Textor, presented to the Public Prosecutor's Office of Rio de Janeiro (MPRJ) evidence he claims to have about alleged crimes of match-fixing in Brazilian football.
Many players from the elite of national football are unaware of the restrictions on involvement with sports betting or the attention to privileged information passed on to third parties, according to people who attended these meetings with Serie A teams.
Source: ge/ Rodrigo Lois
