ESSA and The R&A partner up to protect The Open Championship

ts betting integrity body ESSA has inked a formal information sharing arrangement with The R&A, organiser of major event in the golfing calendar The Open Championship.

Their partnership is a precautionary measure, with ESSA to use its alert and reporting system to monitor for suspicious betting patterns during the tournament.

R&A Chief Executive Martin Slumbers said: “Golf has so far not been confronted by the same issues that many other sports have come up against.

“We cannot be complacent however, and we want to do all we can to protect The Open and the values for which golf is known throughout the world.

“Our arrangement with ESSA, whose members include many recognised international betting operators with access to detailed market data and a commitment to protecting sport, will allow us to effectively monitor betting on the Championship.”

Miles O’Kane, Chairman of ESSA, said: “ESSA and its members believe that maintaining the integrity of any sporting event is fundamental to its future, and we are committed to doing all we can to help uphold the core spirit of sport and fair play.

“Golf is founded on such principles and there are few global sporting events bigger than The Open.

“ESSA is therefore delighted that The R&A has agreed to work with us to protect this historic international sporting event.”

ESSA, which works with major operators including William Hill and Ladbrokes, also partnered with Sportradar last month, the two combining their resources to combat match fixing in tennis.