Africa Affected by Match Fixing as Explosive Report Shows an Increase in Suspicious Betting Patterns Worldwide

• Match-fixing in sports is as bad as its ever been according to a shocking report detailing the scourge
• There were 51 suspicious sports matches in Africa alone in the past year reported by multinational corporation Sportradar Integrity Services
• This was part of more than 900 games across 10 sports codes in 76 countries which seemed bent

Africa appears to have a match-fixing problem, according to a staggering new report.

The continent experienced more than 50 reported suspicious sports events in the last year. This was part of more than 900 games in 10 sport codes across 76 countries globally which were deemed to be suspicious.

As reported in IOL, these revelations were made in a report by global sports technology company Sportsradar Integrity Services.

The continent with the most suspicious sports matches was Europe, where 525 suspicious matches were spotted. The world's most popular sport, football, was unsurprising the most targeted by match-fixers.

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Other Sports

Of the more than 900 sports games flagged for dodgy betting patterns, 694 were football matches across the planet. This was in light of 51 percent of 2021's betting turnover staked on the beautiful game.

Cricket, Esports, ice hockey, tennis, table tennis, volleyball, beach volleyball and basketball were the other sports that did not escape the tentacled clutches of match-fixers. According

According to the Associated Press, the latest numbers represent a 2,4 percent rise in questionable matches over the past year, in comparison to 2019 and 2020.

Sportradar’s bet-monitoring service, the Universal Fraud Detection System (UFDS), was used to uncover suspicious activity, which is at its highest level in the 17 years since recording of such activity first began.

The motivation for interfering with the integrity of events was patently clear, with record levels of global sports betting turnover now estimated at €1.45 trillion (R23.95 trillion) according to SportsRadar. Of this jaw-dropping amount, €165 million came from match-fixing betting profits.

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