The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) has reported that it recorded 63 suspicious betting alerts in the first quarter of 2025, marking an 11% increase from the revised total of 57 alerts in the same quarter last year. However, this figure is slightly lower than the 65 alerts noted in the final quarter of 2024. Football was notably the sport with the highest concern, accounting for 31 alerts or 49% of the total alerts for the period. Football also led in the number of alerts in both Q1 last year and throughout all of 2024.
Tennis, table tennis, and basketball each recorded nine alerts, tying for second place. Additionally, the IBIA sent four alerts related to esports betting and one alert regarding horse racing.
From a geographical standpoint, North America had the highest number of alerts, totaling 17. Among these, nine were related to football betting in Mexico, six were for basketball betting in the United States, and two were for football in Jamaica. Europe saw 15 alerts, with table tennis yielding nine, mainly from the Czech Republic (seven) and Germany (two). The alerts were also diversified across several countries for sports including basketball, football, and horse racing.
South America had 11 alerts, with football betting in Brazil accounting for nine, making it one of the two countries with the highest number of alerts. Ecuador and Argentina recorded one alert each for football and tennis, respectively. In Africa, six alerts were reported, all related to football, with the Ivory Coast having three, while Algeria, Burundi, and Tunisia each had one.
No alerts were reported from Australasia, yet the IBIA noted four global alerts on esports, as the organization cannot assign these alerts to specific countries due to uncertainty about event locations.
Khalid Ali, CEO of IBIA, commented on the data, indicating stability in the number of alerts this quarter, while acknowledging a decrease in tennis alerts but expressing concerns regarding table tennis. "The quarter-on-quarter reduction was primarily due to a fall in tennis alerts, which have shown a welcome reduction in recent years," Ali stated. He added, "The Q4 2024 increase in table tennis alerts has not continued into Q1 2025 and has fallen back to previous levels."
Ali emphasized IBIA's efforts to enhance integrity protocols, announcing new partnerships aimed at combating corrupt betting activities. The IBIA collaborates with over 80 companies across more than 140 betting brands worldwide, covering 50% of all regulated commercial online betting and 30% of all regulated betting in retail and online sectors.
