Brazil safeguards sports integrity with new cooperation agreements
30th October 2024 10:20 am GMTBrazil’s Ministry of Finance has agreed new sports betting integrity cooperation agreements with four leading monitoring and integrity services providers.
Ahead of the planned opening of Brazil’s regulated betting and gaming market in January, the Prizes and Betting Secretariat of the Ministry of Finance (SPA-MF) has signed Technical Cooperation Agreements (ACTs) with Sportradar, Genius Sports, the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA), and Sport Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA).
SPA-MF Secretary Regis Dudena said the formalization of these partnerships will strengthen the security of the entire ecosystem, protecting the betting market, sports and society as a whole.
The agreements will enable the exchange of information, monitoring of sports betting systems, and the identification of suspicious betting movements, with all four organisations also providing training support to technical staff responsible for monitoring the sports betting sector.
“They will train us so that we can identify possible cases of manipulation and related fraud; in addition to sharing information,” said Dudena. “It is a two-way street. We can and should share information so that all operators can be aware of suspicious cases.”
Sportradar manager of integrity partnerships for Brazil, Felippe Marchetti, commented: “The signing of the ACT is a proud occasion for Sportradar and we appreciate the trust shown by the Brazilian Ministry of Finance in the expertise of Sportradar’s Integrity Services division.
“This ACT reflects a mutual commitment to establish a sustainable, regulated sports betting industry in Brazil that is built upon a foundation of integrity.”
IBIA chief executive Khalid Ali welcomed the government’s focus on creating a robust sports betting integrity ecosystem to tackle match-fixing.
“Collaboration and information sharing are key to the success of this ecosystem,” said Ali. “Under this agreement IBIA will identify and report suspicious betting on Brazilian sporting events to the Ministry of Finance to support investigatory actions. That will include detailed customer account data that is only available to IBIA and its members.”
SIGA co-founder and global CEO Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros said that sports betting integrity is one of the fundamental pillars for a healthy and sustainable development of the sports sector.
“We are 100 per cent committed to collaborating with the Brazilian government in this shared mission,” said de Medeiros. “Our extensive knowledge and expertise, as well as our Universal Standards and Rating System, are at the disposal of sports organizations, betting operators, regulators, the government, and other economic players, including sponsors, to ensure that sport in Brazil is governed, operated, and practiced to the highest standards of integrity.”
The agreements with all four companies are valid for five years.
“The SPA is open to discussions with other organizations that work on betting integrity,” Dudena concluded.