ESSA agrees integrity partnership with Russian operator Fonbet

ESSA has signed an integrity agreement with Russian market operator Fonbet, bringing its membership to 20. The deal continues the organisation’s growth and further bolsters the global market coverage of ESSA’s betting integrity alert and reporting system.

Fonbet was the biggest operator in the Russian retail and online market in 2014 with 1180 betting shops (21.4% market share) and 2.5 million monthly visits to its website, serving over a million customers in more than 50 countries. It was also the official betting sponsor of this year’s Euroleague Final Four, won by Russian team CSKA Moscow.

Khalid Ali, Secretary General of ESSA, said: “I am delighted that Fonbet has teamed up with ESSA. It is a major player in the Russian betting market and it will add significant value to our alert system, benefiting our wider membership and integrity partners.

“Fonbet joins other responsible betting operators intent on driving fixers and cheats out of their markets; the options for corrupters continues to diminish as ESSA’s membership and global information sharing network grows.”

Alexandra Sergeeva, CMO of Fonbet, added: “We have been very impressed by ESSA’s systems and professional operation. It continues to play an important role for our sector not just as an effective alert mechanism, but also defending operators at major policy forums.

“Fonbet recognises the importance of this and the clear advantages of being part of an organisation of that stature. We are delighted to have been accepted as a member of ESSA and look forward to playing a full and constructive role.”