Sportradar Renews Partnership with Indian Super League

The Indian Super League (ISL) will continue to benefit from the services of leading integrity and data company Sportradar.

ISL Extends Partnership with Sportradar to Crack Fraud

Sportradar, a multinational supplier of sports data providing integrity solutions to media companies and national and international sport federations like FIFA or the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) as well as data and analysis in the sport sector, has renewed its integrity partnership with the Indian Super League (ISL), which was first established in 2016.

“As a global leader in sporting integrity, we want to continue to provide our expertise and help protect the tournament against all integrity-related issues,” stated Andreas Krannich, Sportradar Integrity Services’ Managing Director.

This multi-year extension deal agreed with ISL organizers, the Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), enables Sportradar to use its Fraud Detection System (FDS) during matches. FDS uses sophisticated algorithms permitting to detect combinations of results.

The corporation will also grant access to its Intelligence & Investigation Services (I&I), a service created to identify and prevent from betting-related manipulation.

How Sportradar Cracks Global Fraud

Since 2005, the FDS has monitored bidding movements of more than 550 betting operators. The FDS team is formed by more than 40 integrity analysts operating from London, Manila and Sydney.

Thousands of journalists specialized in data contribute to the investigation of the global betting market. If suspicious activity is detected, a full report is generated in the next 72 hours, making it easier to start any disciplinary proceedings or criminal investigation related to fraudulent matches.

All in all, 17 different sports such as football, basketball, cricket, rugby and even esports may benefit from FDS.

“ISL renewing its partnership with us only shows how committed they are towards maintaining integrity in the game and proactive towards the growth of football in the subcontinent,” declared Andreas Krannich.

Sportradar’s I&I has also launched a few weeks ago a series of due diligence solutions for its US customers, allowing assessment of risks on future investments.

Another partnership has been announced earlier in September between the company and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Corruption Seeks to Rally Itself Anew, Says Sportradar

In a recent commentary, Sportradar senior manager for Integrity Partnerships in Asia and Singapore, Tan You Chen, cautioned that cracking match-fixing may become more difficult due to the evolving nature of the practice.

According to Chen, corrupt parties are buying stakes in sports clubs and bringing in their own players, up to five players, which makes match-fixing easier to execute and much more difficult to prove.

The covid-19 outbreak also plays a part, Chen cautions, as many clubs are now struggling to cope financially and may be willing to sacrifice integrity in order to stay afloat.