Sportradar Records Decline in Match-Fixing, Advises Vigilance and Innovation

Sportradar, the world’s leading sports technology company, has reported a significant decline in match-fixing across Europe and Africa. While executives praised the trends, they also encouraged sports and betting stakeholders to remain vigilant.

Sportradar Recorded Fewer Suspicious Games in 2024

As reported by Spotradar’s Sportradar Integrity Services arm, match-fixing experienced a significant year-on-year decline in 2024. The company analyzed data from over 850,000 sports games across 70 disciplines and several continents to identify a total of 1,108 suspicious matches, down 17% year-on-year.

Although Europe continued to lead in terms of the highest number of suspicious matches, it experienced a favorable 34% decline in suspicious matches. For context, there were a total of 439 such games in 2024 compared to 668 in 2023.

Europe has historically struggled the most when it comes to the manipulation of sporting events, although the recent statistics imply that this is being effectively addressed.

In the meantime, the number of suspicious games detected in Africa stood at 69, down 36% from 2023 when 108 suspicious matches were identified.

Soccer Remained the Most Targeted Sport

Taking a look at which sports attracted the most suspicious activity makes it clear that soccer, as the most popular sport in the world, continues to attract fraud. According to Sportradar Integrity Services, a total of 721 suspicious soccer games were detected in 2024. This figure is notably 18% lower than the 881 suspicious games identified in 2023.

Brazilian soccer in particular experienced significant improvement, with the number of suspicious games decreasing by a staggering 48% to 57.

Sportradar added that the favorable metrics do not mean that match-fixing is any less problematic or detrimental to the integrity of the sports and betting sectors.

The Market Should Remain Vigilant

Andreas Krannich, Spotradar’s executive vice president of integrity, rights protection & regulatory services, commented on the matter, saying that the trends give his team a reason to be optimistic. However, he rejected complacency and highlighted the importance of continued tech innovation that will drive the number of suspicious games further down.

We remain committed to refining our methods and capabilities and collaborating across the sports and betting industries to support foundational fair play and safeguard the integrity of sports worldwide.

Andreas Krannich, EVP of integrity, rights protection & regulatory services, Sportradar

Sportradar Vows to Continue to Innovate

Speaking of innovation, Sportradar’s CFO, Craig Felenstein, commented on the company’s growth trajectory and strategic priorities at the recent Morgan Stanley Global Consumer and Retail Conference.

Felenstein explained that Sportradar continues to target organic growth and targeted acquisitions despite the economic headwinds. He also reiterated the company’s commitment to product generation and service innovation.

In terms of services, Sportradar’s integrity solutions provided support to a number of major events in 2024, including the UEFA European Championship, the Summer Olympics and CONMEBOL Copa America, and the AFC Cup, among others.