Global Sports Betting Roundup: Sky Bet Fined and the Latest with Match-Fixing

A lot of the global sports betting headlines this past week were focused on the North American scene, thanks to the end of the Major League Baseball lockout, the NFL Free Agency period, and the release of the March Madness brackets. But it is a big world with a thriving sports wagering scene outside of North America. 

Let's take a peek at a few of the big global sports betting stories dominating the headlines.

Sky Bet Fined

Flutter Entertainment subsidiary Sky Betting & Gaming has been fined by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) to the tune of £1.17 million. Their misdeed? The company sent promotional emails to people that were on a self-excluded list. Translation - people who excluded themselves from gambling websites or had unsubscribed from gambling ad campaigns received a 'Bet £5 get 100 free spins' offer from Sky Bet.

According to the commission, Sky Bet failed to live up to the social responsibility code of practice 3.5.3(2), which states that "licensees must, as soon as practicable, take all reasonable steps to prevent any marketing material being sent to a self-excluded customer."

The Sky Bet fine pales compared to the £9.8 million fine levied earlier this year to 888 Holdings for a similar breach.

Six Nations Heads to its Finale

Four weeks of Rugby's Six Nations 2022 are in the books, with just one more to go. Nothing has been decided yet, but France has a chance at Rugby's Grand Slam with a victory over England on Saturday. Ireland, however, can still win the Six Nations with a win over Scotland. France would have to lose to England.

France has been the dominant squad and is heavily favored as we head into the last week of action. As of Tuesday, Bet365 has France at 5/18 to win the Championship, and BetVictor, Ladbrokes, and Coral all have France at 1/4. Ireland, the only other team with a chance at winning it all, is 11/4 with Bet365, 3/1 with BetVictor, and 11/4 with Coral and Ladbrokes.

Women's Cricket World Cup Odds

The Women's Cricket World Cup is underway in New Zealand after being delayed by one year thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Defending champ Australia entered the tournament as -150 favorites according to DraftKings Sportsbook with New Zealand +450, England +500, and India +600.

Australia is a deserved favorite and has shown why so far in the tournament. England has been a disappointment as the third betting favorite. They have lost three straight games and are in danger of missing a semi-final berth.

Check out the latest comprehensive and most trusted Sportsbook Reviews by SBR here.

Match-Fixing Stories Are Not Going Away

Match-fixing in global sporting events is not new and does not appear to be going away. 

A simple google search on the topic leads to stories dating back to the 1919 Black Sox scandal and recent cricket matches in India and Africa. 

With the explosion in the popularity of legal sports betting platforms, there is increased concern that match-fixing will continue to damage the integrity of the games. 

There are also legitimate fears that governing bodies of international sport cannot keep up with the rash of cheating across the globe. 

Recapping the Sportradar Report on Match-Fixing

The fallout from a Sportradar report and its Universal Fraud Detection System (UFDS) continues to shine a light on the potential cheating that accompanies sports betting activities worldwide. 

The report, titled "Betting Corruption and Match-fixing in 2021," has sent shock waves throughout the global sports betting industry while identifying suspicious activity in 903 matches across ten sports in 76 countries. 

https://twitter.com/DavidPurdum/status/1500837654253944838

The 903 cases increased from the previous high of 882 the research firm identified in 2019. To nobody's surprise, it was soccer that led the way in terms of suspicion. Sportradar identified nefarious actions in one of every 201 soccer games they monitored in 2021 – esports was second, with one in every 384 matches having some sketchy betting activity.

Steve Menary Report Just as Damning

Global soccer has long been a hotbed of corruption. Steve Menary, a journalist covering European and International soccer, spoke about his experiences with match-fixing at the end of 2021. 

He identified soccer friendlies as easy prey for match-fixing. He pegged Austria and its governing bodies as leading the way, trying to slow such cheating in global soccer. Austrian governing bodies have set up a team to investigate, and even raid clubs they suspect are operating with suspicious intent.

During his investigation, Menary found 257 friendlies between 2016 and 2020 that fall under the suspicious category and warned that more such activity could be on the horizon, with global betting on soccer by 2025 reaching $37.7 billion.

Read Samindra Kunti interview with Steve Menary here.

Other Examples of Match-Fixing Around the World

A lot has been made regarding cheating in cricket these past few months. 

The JK Baruah Inter-District Cricket tournament was plagued by scandal earlier this year. The NFR under-19 cricket team captain was banned for three years for cheating by the Assam Cricket Association (ACA). 

Former Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor was also embroiled in his own cheating scandal earlier this year, along with a few executives from his Cricket Association.

Tennis has had its own match-fixing scandal as of late. In January, Argentine player Nicolas Arreche received a four-year ban and was fined $8,000 by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA). 

His cheating was traced back to matches between 2017 and 2019. It wasn't the first such match-fixing scandal in Argentinean tennis - Franco Feitt was banned for life last April in one of several incidences of cheating in the sports in that country.

Make sure to keep an eye on our Live Odds page throughout the week to get the best lines possible and connect with others in the SBR community on our popular sports betting forum