IBIA to protect Canadian athletes from corruption in sports

The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) has embarked on a new and ambitious program that is designed to protect athletes in Canada from the potential dangers linked to match-fixing and fraud in sports, now that the country’s regulated sports betting market has been expanding at a rapid clip.

To this end, IBIA and its members, FanDuel, Betway, and bet365, have vowed to fund a new athlete education program that will cover the entirety of Canada, with participating members pledging to invest at least CA$300,000 over the next three years. The announcement was made during the Symposium on Competition Manipulation and Gambling in Sport, which was held in Toronto, and is co-sponsored by IBIA and the aforementioned members.

The new initiative was revealed before an audience of high-ranking representatives of Canadian sports, from leagues such as Hockey Canada, NFL, NHL, CFL, CPL, and the NBA, as well as members of the Gaming Commissions of Ontario and Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission, the press statement detailed.

The project will offer athletes the opportunity to act on suspicion of match-fixing and fraud in sports, but also empower them to overcome temptations and know how to respond in cases when they are approached by potentially harmful third parties. There will be face-to-face athlete training, an anonymous reporting app, awareness-raising publications and materials, as well as a dedicated e-learning portal.

IBIA Education Ambassador Jean-Francois Reymond welcomed the initiative and hailed its significance, arguing that protecting the integrity of sports means protecting the integrity of athletes. The objective is to create a best-in-class program that all athletes may be protected and covered.

Betway CEO Anthony Werkman was similarly pleased with this opportunity and said that he was very happy to see his company give its commitment to this initiative and education program. FanDuel General Manager Dale Hooper was of a similar mind and said that the company was too supportive of education programs in Ontario and beyond. IBIA CEO KhalidAli hailed the readiness with which bet365, Betway and FanDuel volunteered to help and ensure that athletes are educated and protected.

"For IBIA, sports integrity, and investing in the people that make sport happen, matters," Ali concluded. IBIA recently expanded its reach in Latin America through a new focus on strengthening sports integrity in Brazil and expanding its operations in the country and region.

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