Brazil has relinquished its global leadership in the ranking of countries with the most suspected match-fixing games. Brazilian football recorded a 48% decrease in the number of matches with signs of match-fixing in 2024 compared to 2023. The data comes from the annual integrity report by Sportradar, a global leader in sports technology, and a partner of CBF, Conmebol, UEFA, and FIFA.
There were 53 fewer cases in Brazilian football detected by Sportradar's monitoring system, according to the report. The total considered suspicious was 57, with four in competitions organized by the CBF.
Brazil therefore leaves the global leadership after finishing first in this ranking in 2022 and 2023, with 152 (139 in football) and 110 cases, respectively. There was a reduction of 29% from one year to the next, but the country remained in global leadership. Now, it was 48%.
This drop in 2024 was also identified by the CBF, which received fewer reports of suspicious games. The confederation, state federations, clubs, and betting companies have adopted different practices of prevention and combat against manipulation in recent months.
A suspicious game is any that shows "conclusive evidence" of result fixing or with credible indications of manipulation. In Brazil, most cases occurred in football. These games are concentrated in regional competitions, second division or lower, organized by state federations.
But many elite football players in the national league are unaware of the restrictions on involvement with sports betting or do not pay attention to privileged information passed on to third parties.
Sport sees overall decline in manipulations
And there was a general decrease in this manipulation of results, in all sports worldwide. Sportradar detected a total of 1,108 suspicious games worldwide in 2024, across 12 sports. Reduction of 17% compared to 2023.
These more than a thousand suspicious matches were identified in 95 different countries, on six continents. According to Sportradar, 99.5% of sports events on the planet remain "uncontaminated by result manipulation".
Football continues to lead globally in sports with the most suspicious games: 721. There was a reduction of 160 cases in football compared to 2023. Sportradar's data supported 104 sanctions related to the integrity of seven sports, in 15 countries, in 2024. The company monitored more than 850,000 sports events last year.
To monitor competitions and identify irregular betting patterns, Sportradar uses advanced data analysis technology and artificial intelligence (AI) through the Universal Fraud Detection System (UFDS).
AI is responsible for detecting unusual activities, such as large bets on unlikely outcomes, while the company's team of experts plays a key role in confirming cases of manipulation and forwarding them for in-depth investigations.
Andreas Krannich, Executive VP of Integrity, Rights Protection and Regulatory Services at Sportradar, stated: “While the significant reduction in suspicious matches in 2024 gives us reason for optimism, it also highlights the need for continued vigilance and innovation, as the number is still significant”.
“Our investments in innovation, coupled with data analysis of the betting market and integrity education initiatives, are at the forefront of addressing the growing challenges of global sports integrity. We will continue to enhance our technologies and work together with the sports and betting industries to promote fair play and protect the integrity of sport worldwide”, Krannich affirmed.
Source: GMB
