The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) emphasizes that the factors leading to match-fixing in sports are not unique to Africa. According to the IBIA, criminals exploit similar vulnerabilities wherever they operate, such as weak governance, financial instability, insufficient education about integrity, and poor reporting mechanisms.
However, the organization highlights that Africa is experiencing rapid growth in its regulated betting market, with significant variation in regulatory maturity across different regions. The IBIA's upcoming 2025 Sports Betting Integrity Report, supported by projections from H2 Gambling Capital, anticipates that the continent's total gross gambling revenue from betting will skyrocket from $3.5 billion in 2021 to an impressive $19.4 billion by 2030. A substantial portion of this growth is expected to be driven by online betting, projected to reach $16.4 billion by 2030, with 79%, or $13 billion, generated onshore.
Khalid Ali, the CEO of IBIA, views this trend not just as a potential risk but as an opportunity as well. He states, "That growth presents an opportunity as much as a challenge. Digital, account-based betting generates valuable intelligence that licensed operators can use to identify suspicious activity before it escalates."
Football remains the top betting sport, with about 90% of the alerts related to football from IBIA involving customer accounts located outside the jurisdictions where the events occur. Ali stresses the need for a combined approach to integrity threats, saying, "Our approach therefore combines global monitoring with local partnerships, allowing suspicious betting patterns identified across multiple operators and jurisdictions to be shared quickly with the relevant authorities."
When discussing the alert numbers reported by IBIA, Ali cautions against jumping to conclusions. He explains that the presence of more alerts doesn’t necessarily mean an increase in match-fixing. From 2021 to 2025, there were 117 alerts concerning African sporting events, including 31 in 2025, a year in which Africa accounted for around 10% of all alerts globally. During the first half of 2026, an additional 17 alerts were noted, which Ali interprets as continuity rather than a significant rise in issues.
He identifies several underlying factors for these alerts, stating, "Betting activity is growing, more Africa-facing operators are joining international integrity monitoring networks, and regulated online betting is generating more account-level data that can be analyzed. Improved monitoring naturally increases the ability to detect suspicious patterns that may previously have gone unnoticed." Ali insists that alerts should be viewed as intelligence outputs that require further investigation, not as conclusive proof of manipulation.
Most alerts involving African events, according to the data, are predominantly related to football and tennis. When questioned about whether this concentration indicates a problem, Ali clarifies that it better reflects where suspicious activity is detected. He says, "An alert is not proof that a match has been manipulated. It indicates that suspicious betting activity has been identified and that an investigation should be conducted by the relevant authorities."
This alert data often reveals that betting on flagged matches does not take place in the same countries as the events. Ali points out, "Betting integrity is also increasingly international. An alert linked to an African sporting event may involve betting activity originating in Europe, Asia, or elsewhere. This is precisely why global monitoring matters."
Some African sports federations have opted to restrict betting on domestic competitions, citing integrity concerns. While Ali acknowledges their objective, he expresses skepticism about whether such restrictions eliminate betting or merely redirect it. He states, "The question, however, is whether restricting regulated betting removes that activity or simply pushes it towards poorly regulated or unregulated markets where there is little or no transparency."
According to Ali, well-regulated markets facilitate better integrity outcomes. He explains that licensed operators can monitor their customers, track account activity, and report suspicious betting patterns through established integrity frameworks, all of which are largely absent in unregulated markets. He emphasizes that regulated betting should be seen as part of the integrity solution, stating, "The objective should be to ensure that betting takes place within environments where effective monitoring can protect both the sport and the consumers."
He further explains that the crucial task now lies in what happens after an alert is issued. Ali points out, "An alert is the beginning of an investigation, not the end of one. Successful outcomes depend on the wider integrity ecosystem, which requires legal powers and cooperation from regulators, law enforcement, and sports governing bodies."
The complexities of international betting make it particularly challenging to act on alerts, as they often involve multiple jurisdictions. Ali argues for the need to strengthen legal frameworks and improve information sharing across borders to close the gap between detection and enforcement.
IBIA's collaboration with the African iGaming Alliance has created a structured platform for engaging with stakeholders across over twenty African jurisdictions, fostering a collective approach to integrity. Ali advocates for formalizing sports betting integrity as part of licensing and regulatory frameworks across the continent. He cites Ontario and Alberta as best practice examples, as both jurisdictions require operators to participate in integrity monitoring and establish clear reporting protocols.
Looking ahead, Ali sees an opportunity for Africa’s developing markets to integrate integrity measures into regulations from the start, rather than retrofitting them later, to ensure stronger confidence in both sports and regulated betting in the long run.
