IBIA calls for more regulatory measures in Latin America

The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) has called on more policymakers and legislators in Latin America to uphold the integrity of sports betting by mirroring Brazil’s recently passed legislation. They aim to eliminate integrity concerns as more countries in the region consider enacting legal sports betting laws.

The main part of the Brazilian regulation requires licensed sports betting operators to join an independent integrity monitoring body. By joining such a network, IBIA can quickly and effectively prevent match-fixing in Brazilian sports betting markets. It is now calling on other Latin American countries to follow suit to curb match-fixing scandals, inspired by the actions of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who signed Bill PL3626/23 into law in January.

“The regulation’s provision that operators in Brazil must join the independent sports integrity monitoring body contributes to the growth of IBIA’s membership and our ability to monitor more betting transactions in Brazil’s regulated market,” said Khalid Ali, IBIA’s CEO. “Our priorities are to continue to strengthen our monitoring and alert network and to expand our information sharing agreements with partner organizations in Brazil and across the Latin American region.”

IBIA Expansion

Brazil already has several licensed sports betting operators, including bet365 and Betfair, which are helping the association crack down on betting scandals and corrupt match-fixing practices. The country is expected to earn $34 billion in sports betting revenue by 2028, while IBIA represents more than 60% of Brazil’s remote gambling market.

IBIA recently announced a partnership with Genius Sports to share integrity information while prioritizing match-fixing prevention across the Latin American region. IBIA has already seen an increase in suspicious betting alerts in other countries in 2024. It is also pushing for all countries where sports betting is legal to offer a full range of betting products, eliminating the interest in betting with illegal offshore bookmakers.

“Legalization means a renewed responsibility to protect the sports betting market, sports and consumers from match-fixing,” said Ali. “Brazil has set the bar high for integrity, but there is still much work to be done in the broader LatAm region. We need to focus on creating a solid sports betting integrity ecosystem across the LatAm market. IBIA will therefore work with its expanding LatAm network to increase monitoring and strengthen collaboration among key stakeholders.”

Through IBIA’s monitoring and alarm network technology, its free services are made available to sports governing bodies, regulators and law enforcement agencies, allowing them to freely cooperate in the investigation and prosecution of those involved in illegal match-fixing activities.

It can monitor and analyze up to $300 billion in global betting transactions per year, monitoring transaction activity down to the consumer level to find highly granular data that exposes suspicious betting activity. IBIA uses technology that goes beyond monitoring betting odds movement.

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