August 9 – Betting related match-fixing is on the increase in South America, according to the latest six-monthly data from sports integrity specialists Starlizard Integrity Services (SIS) who tracked 36,841 matches in the 1 January and 30 June 2024 period.
Starlizard identified 79 matches as suspicious (Starlizard analyse the betting markets for unusual activity) with Conmebol countries showing what Starlizard calls a “worrying” 200% increase in suspicious matches overall.
A huge 21.55% of suspicious matches (17 in total) were identified from just one country in the Conmebol region, with six of the matches played in that country’s top domestic tier and 11 in the second domestic tier.
Affy Sheikh, Head of Starlizard Integrity Services, commented: “The 2024 half-year figures reveal several concerning insights, with few positives to report. In particular, the data highlights a troubling situation in the Conmebol region, where the number of suspicious matches has surged by 200% compared to the same period last year.”
“This stark increase serves as a clear reminder that match-fixers are constantly adapting and will exploit any vulnerabilities they find,” continued Sheikh.
The 33 suspicious matches (41.8%) that were identified in the Conmebol region, are an increase of 11 on the same period last year. This represents 0.56% of all Conmebol region matches analysed by Starlizard during the first half of 2024.
In contrast the UEFA region saw a drop in the number of suspicious matches from 40 to 29. The new figure represents 0.15% of all UEFA region matches analysed.
Starlizard said that “11 of the 79 suspicious matches (13.9%) had a HIGH suspicion rating allocated to them, with 39 matches (49.4%) assessed at a MEDIUM level of suspicion”, while 49 suspicious matches (62%) were identified in domestic competitions below the top tier, with 19 matches (24.1%) in top-tier domestic competitions.
Starlizard said that 23 different countries had at least one integrity alert in a domestic men’s competition.
Identifying an increasing trend, Starlizard found that 40 of the suspicious matches (50.6%) were the subject of suspicious betting patterns in the first-half-only betting markets – almost double the 21 matches similarly identified for the same period in 2023.
“We are witnessing a growing trend of manipulation in first-half-only betting markets. In the first six months of 2024, 40 matches were targeted in this way, up from 21 during the same period in 2023 – itself a significant rise,” said Sheikh.
“Whilst the overall percentage of suspicious matches remains low, the data nevertheless shows match-fixing poses a continuing and severe threat to the integrity of the game. Football must engage in serious reflection on how best to tackle this issue, as the persistent lack of improvement in numbers across the board suggests that current efforts and strategies are not effective enough.”
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