Especially in the face of such a key event like the World Cup, in which all the spotlight is on the competition, match-fixing is widely fought and a concern of both FIFA and Interpol and other oversight and policing bodies.
GMB spoke exclusively on the topic with Guilherme Buso, Business Development Manager at Genius Sports, one of the leading global sports data and technology companies.
GMB – Brazil is on the verge of entering another World Cup. How is the sports betting industry preparing, from the point of view of sports integrity, in the face of an event that is a reference for everyone?
Guilherme Buso –The World Cup is the premier sporting event in the world and Genius Sports is extremely excited about it. We have a strategy dedicated to free-to-play games, the famous pool, for the World Cup. We can offer this to bookmakers and we understand that it is gamification and a way to engage users and fans to start having fun with this gamification through the World Cup.
And when we talk about integrity in sport, the World Cup is a little more relaxed, because we are doing it in an event that has all the eyes of the world on it. The concern is for smaller events and where Genius Sports has a very active and close work with sports entities and bookmakers to avoid this happening as much as possible. It involves education and a lot of proximity to the entities to curb the manipulation of results.
Even though the World Cup is a spotlight event, all entities are still keeping an eye on it, such as FIFA, Interpol and other inspection and policing bodies...
Undoubtedly. Every sports organization has a lot of concern and needs to. The effect, when discovered, is very harmful, as it hinders the relationship with the fan, with the sponsor and the image of an entity. FIFA is number 1 in terms of this. I've worked in a sports organization and I know how these organizations are concerned with the subject. It is up, especially in Brazil where bookmakers are arriving and expanding the market, that they are more attentive and that they work with companies such as Genius Sports, which has a very efficient monitoring service to indicate and understand what is happening in the betting houses around the world.
Brazil is in need of regulation of betting, isn't it? The whole market is looking forward to it...
I think so. The taste that this was going to happen has already appeared many times. There is this expectation that it is about to happen and I am sure that by the end of the year it will pass. And everyone is getting ready for it. It's inevitable!
With clear rules, combating manipulation of results...
What is essential. May the regulation come with all these points very well defined so that the entire ecosystem feels comfortable and safe, from the user in the bet to the bookmakers and entities involved with this world. It's a law that comes to improve everyone's experience even more.
And Genius Sports is ready for that moment...
Yes. As has already happened in other markets, such as the United States and Genius Sports was prepared for this, as well as in other Latin American markets where the same thing happened.
Source: Exclusive GMB
