The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) and the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation (KSPO) have signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at promoting the global expansion of Korean cycling and motorboat betting. This marks the first collaboration between IBIA and an Asian sports organization, focusing on enhancing the integrity of sports betting and ensuring industry transparency and fairness.
By 2024, the Korean betting market is expected to reach approximately 25.5 trillion Korean won (about 15 billion euros), with about 22.86 million participants, of which bicycle and motorboat betting accounts for 7.5%, attracting about 12.5 million active users.
Khalid Ali, CEO of IBIA, stated at the signing ceremony in London that this agreement is not only significant for the integrity of KSPO and its K-Cycle and K-Motorboat Racing projects but also sets a model for enhancing betting integrity across Asia. He emphasized that IBIA looks forward to deepening cooperation to jointly maintain the integrity and responsibility of K-Sports betting.
Sung-chul Lee, General Manager of KSPO, mentioned that this cooperation has elevated the international status of K-Sports and laid the foundation for Korean sports betting to reach global standards. KSPO will rely on integrity cooperation to continuously provide high-quality betting products to the international market.
Additionally, IBIA detected 63 potential suspicious betting incidents in the first quarter of this year, a 3% decrease from the previous quarter but an 11% increase from the same period last year. These alerts covered 23 countries and 6 sports, with football and tennis remaining the highest risk activities.
