SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Virgin Bet has become the latest operator to join the newly-rebranded International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA), highlighting its commitment to upholding betting integrity.
The move will facilitate the expansion of the IBIA’s monitoring and alert platform, with 50 brands now holding memberships to the association.
Simon Mizzi, Marketing Director at Virgin Bet, said: “Betting-related corruption in sport represents a serious risk to all operators. It is why licensing and regulatory processes around the world are increasingly focusing on integrity measures.
“Membership of the International Betting Integrity Association, a global leader in that field, is the most effective way of highlighting our commitment to protecting our customers and sporting events. We go into our new enterprise with the best possible business protection.”
The IBIA utilises collective action to ensure that its members are not impacted by betting corruption. The association has longstanding information sharing partnerships with leading sports and gambling regulators to utilise its data and prosecute corruption.
Under the operator’s membership, Virgin Bet will be represented in ‘high-level policy discussions’ by the IBIA while also gaining access to its monitoring and alert platform – an anti-corruption tool that detects and reports suspicious activity on its members’ betting markets.
Khalid Ali, Secretary General of the International Betting Integrity Association, welcomed the move, stating: “The Virgin brand is one of the most recognised in the world and I am delighted that one of Virgin Bet’s first acts is to commit to investing in the integrity of its product and sporting events by joining our association.
“I can’t stress enough how important it is for operators to engage collectively on this issue from both a corporate responsibility and business perspective.”
