Jun 26, 2015
Swiss firm monitors Women's World Cup for betting irregularities
A betting intelligence company is monitoring the Women's World Cup for signs of match-fixing on behalf of an unnamed client. As TSN's Rick Westhead writes, Switzerland-based Sportradar has been hired to irregular betting patterns that could indicate match-fixing.
A betting intelligence company is monitoring the Women's World Cup for signs of match-fixing on behalf of an unnamed client.
Swiss-based Sportradar, a supplier of sports and betting-related data services, uses computer software and data provided by more than 450 bookmakers around the world to track irregular betting patterns that could indicate match-fixing.
Sportradar monitors more than 30,000 soccer matches per year across Europe.
A company spokesman confirmed that the company is monitoring the Women's World Cup, but wouldn't identify Sportradar's client.
While Sportradar is monitoring the tournament, there has been no suggestion that any match-fixing has taken place. A company spokesman said that if it detects irregular betting patterns that suggest match-fixing has taken place, it is up to its customer to make that information public.
Match-fixing is a grave threat to soccer's credibility. During a conference in September, authorities said as many as 80 countries over the past three years have investigated reports of match-fixing.
Authorities pointed out that only five European countries consider sporting fraud a criminal offense.
"On an objective risk assessment, women's soccer is definitely not immune to approaches from fixers," a source told TSN. "Some women's soccer and sports do attract reasonable betting turnover and of course female players or participants can suffer from low or irregular wages.
"Fixers are not sexist: if there are vulnerabilities in or around the playing field, and there is money changing hands across betting platforms, they will at least consider the opportunity."
Gamblers are expected to wager a total of about $3.4 billion on the Women's World Cup, a source told TSN. For context, there was about $97 billion bet during last year's Men's World Cup in Brazil.
Monitoring of match-fixing does not happen at every major sporting event. The NHL, for instance, does not hire a company to monitor betting patterns, so it's unclear whether anyone monitors the Stanley Cup for potential match-fixing. The International Ice Hockey Federation, on the other hand, hires Sportradar to monitor tournaments, including the world junior championship. Sportradar, whose other clients include the Major League Soccer and the Union of European Football Associations, or UEFA, was hired in February to monitor the Asian Cup.
Sportradar reported it found no indications of match-fixing.
A month earlier, the company alerted German football officials about possible match fixing after it detected irregular betting patterns during a friendly game between VfB Stuttgart and an Albanian team called KF Laci. Stuttgard won the match 5-0.
The 2015 Women's World Cup marks the first time Las Vegas bookmakers posted odds for every match during the tournament, ESPN reported.
During the last women's world cup, in 2011, betting lines were posted midway through the tournament.