Sports and betting integrity body ESSA has confirmed that it has relaunched as the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) with immediate effect which will see both sporting bodies and affiliates commit to fighting corruption.
The relaunched betting integrity body will focus upon the representation of regulated sports betting operators and affiliates across 50 different brands including the Association of British Bookmakers (ABB), H2 Gambling Capital and Perform.
Khalid Ali, Secretary General of the International Betting Integrity Association, commented on the news: “The new name communicates who we are, what we do and where we want to be. The association has been active across six continents in recent years, with almost half of our alerts coming from outside of Europe.
“This activity will only increase as gambling markets around the world continue to open up to regulation. The debate is global and our strategic focus must evolve in line with that.”
The integrity-focused association currently acts as a prominent figurehead in the promotion of integrity across the regulated sports betting industry. It utilises collective action through its Monitoring & Alert Platform as a means to allow operators and industry stakeholders to report suspicious activity on its members’ betting markets.
Working alongside sports bodies such as FIFA, UEFA, the TIU and the IOC, the IBIA monitors transactional activity linked to individual accounts and uses this data to collaborate with regulators in preventing corruption. This differs to other models which monitor the live betting odds markets.
Jon Russell, non-executive Chair of the association’s Board and Head of Global Trading at Betway, explained: “Our members represent a sizeable part of the worldwide regulated betting market and their business strategies reflect global ambitions.
“Integrity has become a key regulatory issue in that market debate, with membership of a monitoring body a licensing requirement in some cases.”
Russell added: “Betting and integrity are now inseparable and I encourage all responsible operators to join us and take advantage of the multifaceted business benefits membership brings.”
