The lottery industry sports betting integrity body raised 269 alerts in H1 2020, down on last year’s figure of 432.

Of the suspicious betting alerts, Europe was the biggest culprit, accounting for 178 of the 269 alerts, while in terms of sport, football had the most alerts flagged in total, with 197.

Looking at when the alerts were raised, 199 were sent before the start of a match, with eight raised in-play based on odds changes, and 62 triggered after the matches had finished.

Out of the alerts, 37 were deemed to be red alerts, which includes being based on suspicious odds changes or rumours of match fixing from a named source; 64 were classed as yellow, and 126 flagged as green, which were more minor issues, such as team-related news and wrong starting prices.

Since major sport has returned from May, the GLMS has seen an increase in suspicious trading patterns, which has led to an increase of alerts.

GLMS president Ludovico Calvi said: “The world of 'post-Covid 19' sport will be full of unanswered questions and economic instability for some time, placing unprecedented pressure on new revenue, cost management, and financial offsets.

“It is our duty to remain vigilant while strategically deploying safeguarding measures to guarantee the legality of sports betting, and to protect athletes and stakeholders across the globe.”