The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has reinforced its commitment to safeguarding the integrity of football in Asia by signing a four-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA).
This agreement, announced today (07th of October 2024), aims to strengthen efforts against match-fixing and irregular betting activities across the continent.
Under the MoU, the AFC and IBIA will collaborate closely to detect suspicious betting patterns in football matches.
IBIA will utilize its Monitoring and Alert Platform to provide the AFC with real-time data on irregular betting activities, enhancing the AFC’s capability to promptly investigate potential match manipulation.
AFC General Counsel and Director of Legal Affairs, Andrew Mercer, emphasized the organization’s commitment to maintaining ethical standards in the sport.
Mercer added that partnerships with leading organizations are crucial in the fight against match-fixing. “This MoU with IBIA further strengthens our ability to ensure football in Asia remains clean for the future generations of fans, players, and stakeholders.”
Khalid Ali, CEO of IBIA, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration, underling that cooperation is “vital for an effective integrity monitoring and investigatory framework”.
“IBIA is delighted to strengthen its relationship with the AFC through this important information-sharing collaboration. We will safeguard the AFC ecosystem by monitoring our members’ global customer account activity, which encompasses over $300 billion in sports betting annually”, Ali added.
The Asia Pacific sports betting market size is anticipated to reach $60.3 billion by 2030, according to ResearchAndMarkets.com.
