IBIA and Colombia’s Fecoljuegos ink betting integrity agreement
The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) has set its sights on South America, teaming up with a top Colombian trade body to combat corruption and match fixing.
After inking an agreement with the Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) earlier this month, IBIA has taken a trip on down to warmer climes.
The organisation has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Colombian Federation of Entrepreneurs of Games of Luck and Chance (Fecoljuegos).
Evert Montero Cárdenas, President of Fecoljuegos, commented: “With great expectation we receive this memorandum which establishes an agreement of wills. We believe that this is an important step to shield the activity from irregular practices that have affected it for years.
“Partnering with IBIA is surely something that guarantees higher standards of integrity, which represents an advantage for the legal industry in the country.”
IBIA reported 121 alerts to Latin American authorities between 2017 and 2021, with nine suspicious matches taking place in Colombia: eight for tennis and one for football.
And according to figures from H2 Gambling Capital, Latin America’s total betting gross win for 2021 was worth $1.9bn, with Colombia accounting for $808m.
Based on this, as well as current growth projections, IBIA and Fecoljuegos are looking, through their partnership, to foster a profitable sports betting environment free of fraud.
“We are happy to collaborate with Fecoljuegos on common projects in the fight against match fixing,” said Khalid Ali, IBIA Chief Executive.
“The establishment of the Colombian National Committee for the prevention of manipulation of sports competitions is the first of its kind in the Latin American region.
“Fecoljuegos played an important role in its launch, and we fully support the call for integrity provisions to be included in the gambling legislation.”
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