Sports data provider Sportradar has signed a three-year service agreement with Six Nations Rugby Limited to employ its Fraud Detection System (FDS) to monitor the annual rugby tournament for unusual betting activity. The partnership will see the FDS used for the senior men’s, women’s and under-twenties championships, monitoring global betting patterns and movements across all regulated and unregulated markets.
Over the course of the partnership the FDS will be used across 135 games, with Sportradar also organising fraud prevention workshops for representatives of each participating nation.
“To date, rugby, particularly international rugby, has thankfully stayed clear of match-fixing and match manipulation,” Six Nations tournament and operations director Jon Davis explained. “But we would be naïve to discount the risk altogether, so, in order to head off the possibility, The Six Nations in consultation with the six Unions decided that the Sportradar service would send a clear message.”
“We are vigilant and remain vigilant across our competitions: men’s, women’s and U20s. We hope to hear very little, if at all, from Sportradar in the coming years; but if we do, supporters and stakeholders of the RBS 6 Nations can rest assured that we will act quickly and with conviction,” he said.
Currently the Six Nations is contested by England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The men’s tournament begins today (February 6th) with England taking on Wales at Cardiff’s Millenium Stadium.
Sportradar managing director for integrity Andreas Krannich said: “The Six Nations have decided to double-down their defences by pairing our FDS, which monitors 450 betting operators worldwide, with our educational workshops, which have been delivered to football and rugby rights holders across Europe and beyond.
“Education is such a key component of this service and we are excited to arm key participants with the awareness and understanding of the issue and how it can affect them,” he explained. “This year is a big year for international rugby and it all starts with this year’s RBS 6 Nations. We are proud to play our part in keeping that competition honest, as well as intense and exhilarating.”
source : www.gamingintelligence.com
