Artificial intelligence is used to ensure the integrity of sports betting
At the end of October, the Brazilian Ministry of Finance and the International Betting Integrity Association (Ibia) signed a cooperation agreement. The objective is to ensure the integrity of sports betting in the country, at a time when 'Bets' - as operators are called in Brazil - are preparing to comply with new regulations, which come into effect on January 1, 2025. From that date, the rules that require these operators to have a license in the country, where they will start to collect taxes, will come into effect.
Ibia is an international non-profit organization that has worked in partnership with sports bodies, regulators and law enforcement agencies since 2005, monitoring more than US$ 300 billion per year in bets made on more than 125 brands. It has information-sharing partnerships with the world's leading sports bodies, including the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the Union of Euro Football Federations (UEFA), the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
It is the largest entity of its kind on the planet and will work in cooperation with the government in Brazil, a country where, according to estimates, US$34 billion in betting volume is expected to be generated by 2028. The Ministry of Finance projects that, with the implementation of the regulation, tax collection could reach R$3.4 billion (US$ 588m) annually.
According to André Gelfi, CEO of the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gambling (IBJR), the collaboration is positive, given that the organization's member companies, which account for 75% of the Brazilian betting market, are also affiliated with IBIA. The IBJR works to promote fair play and responsible entertainment, in order to ensure the prevention and combat of fraud, match-fixing and money laundering.
“The integrity of the game is fundamental and non-negotiable. The largest 'bets' in Brazil, in line with what they already do in other countries, actively identify possible fraud to curb this type of illegal and immoral behavior. We defend and work for fair play and healthy entertainment,” emphasizes CEO André Gelfi.
New rules
The main representative of operators in the sports betting sector in Brazil, the IBJR was created in March 2023 with the purpose of collaborating with the structuring of a regulatory environment that is safe for the consumer, sustainable for the sector and healthy for the Brazilian economy. According to the CEO, the institute seeks to follow international practices, strengthened by the Ministry of Finance with the regulations that will come into effect on January 1.
The new rules require that bettors be informed, with transparency, of how much they will win if they win. Companies are now required to pay at least 85% in prizes of what is collected from bets. Furthermore, only companies that undergo independent audits, which generate a certification, will be allowed to operate in the country using the “.bet.br” domain.
Facial recognition will also be implemented, based on a technology whose main objective is to prevent minors from using the platforms, which is prohibited by law.
The auditing companies will also monitor whether 'Bets' are complying with the requirement to feed information daily into the Betting Management System (Sigap), a technological solution developed by the Ministry of Finance with the aim of enabling the regulation, monitoring and inspection of this market. The proposal, which has the support of the IBJR, is to identify whether there are suspicious operations and even compulsive behavior by players.
As Gelfi states, the new rules and the agreement with Ibia strengthen the integrity of the sector's activities and accelerate the adoption of technologies already consolidated in Europe for monitoring games, which, in Brazil, are already used by companies associated with the IBJR.
“Any unusual movements that may constitute some type of manipulation of results are identified through scans carried out by artificial intelligence. Once the cases have been identified, the competent authorities and sports entities can be notified.”
Bets in the country undergo scans to identify non-standard transactions
All transactions made by the operators generate data, which can be monitored with the support of technology, especially artificial intelligence (AI). This is why companies associated with the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming, which in most cases also operate in other markets with mature regulations, have replicated the strategies they already use abroad.
“Our members share the common goal of combating corruption in betting to protect the integrity of sports and its businesses. Ibia is the leading global voice on integrity for the licensed betting industry,” says Gelfi.
According to the executive, the solutions used by these companies allow us to identify and prevent, for example, manipulation of sports results, suspicious transactions or transactions that are incompatible with the bettor's profile, generating access blocks and other restrictions.
According to Ibia, this happens because daily bets undergo scans, which identify non-standard transactions that may constitute some type of manipulation.
When a case is detected, an alert is issued to deepen the investigation and notify the authorities and sports entities.
These technological tools are also adopted in countries with strict rules for the sector, such as England, Italy and Australia. They were used, for example, to identify the activities of Brazilian football player Lucas Paquetá, a player for the British football team West Ham. He is suspected of having deliberately caused the receiving of yellow cards in four Premier League matches, the top division of the English championship, between November 2022 and August 2023.
The tools were also used in the episode, still under investigation, involving Flamengo player Bruno Henrique. The same technology is available in Brazil, through IBJR associates.
“We believe that ensuring the reliability and credibility of data from sporting events is of the utmost importance. There is a clear benefit for each party involved in the data supply chain in ensuring that such data is a product with high levels of accuracy and transparency,” says Gelfi.
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"The practice of responsible gambling is a way of promoting entertainment in a healthy way, with bets made consciously, ensuring that the user respects their financial and emotional limits," says André Gelfi. "With this, the game becomes not only a fun experience, but also transparent and reliable for everyone.”
Among the protection tools are the monitoring of game time, with scheduled breaks, alerts to avoid bets aimed at recovering losses, the strict prohibition of bets by minors, as determined by law, and the permanent fight against the manipulation of sports results, in addition to the encouragement of financial self-control by players.
Facial recognition
Mandatory as of January 2025, facial recognition in online betting is in the integration phase on the platforms of companies associated with IBJR. Brazil will be the first country to adopt the technology, already successfully used by financial institutions.
During user authentication with biometrics, the bookmaker's' system will be able to cross-reference the data, mapping possible irregularities. Combined with artificial intelligence tools, it will be possible, for example, to block access attempts by children and adolescents, in addition to preventing fraud.
At certain points during the betting process, the player's authenticity will be verified and compared with the registered data. If there is any inconsistency, the user may be automatically blocked.
Facial recognition may also prevent operations carried out by fraudsters who steal or hack cell phones to bet on behalf of third parties.
Match-fixing
The 'Bets' associated with the IBJR also use artificial intelligence to identify possible match manipulations in sports matches. The technology is the same used by countries such as England, the United States and Australia.
The artificial intelligence constantly scans to detect unusual movements that may constitute some type of match manipulation. When cases are identified, authorities and sports entities are notified. According to the institute, financial movements are constantly monitored, and an in-depth analysis is carried out when there is suspicion.
Regulation of 'Bets' involves independent audits
Also in the campaign to inform society, the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming (IBJR) published an article in Valor on the importance of the government being strict when granting authorization for companies to operate in the country. For the IBJR, this involves, for example, adopting independent audits on the betting companies, both in terms of the platform itself and the games offered.
The auditing companies will also monitor whether the betting companies are complying with the requirement to feed information into the Betting Management System (Sigap), a technological solution developed by the Ministry of Finance with the aim of enabling the regulation, monitoring and inspection of this market.
The proposal is to identify if there are suspicious transactions or even point out compulsive behavior by players. These changes are based on international guidelines related to the issues of security and reliability of the operation, adopted in the main markets. And they are in line with the IBJR proposal.
“The certifications contribute in a technical and impartial manner to the transparency of the segment. The regulation aims at the security and fairness of the transactions, values also defended by the IBJR, which contributes with solutions applied in markets with already mature and rigorous regulation.”
According to Gelfi, the IBJR, which supported the creation of Sigap from the beginning, defends the regulation of the sector and understands that compliance with the legal requirements by all companies is the most efficient and necessary way to face the challenges being discussed in society.
Inspection procedures are similar to those carried out by companies listed on stock exchanges
The verification work takes into account two aspects: functionality and security. In the first case, the certifier acts to attest whether all the functions offered on the platforms are in fact real, transparent and operational.
A series of tests are applied to the platforms to verify whether the commands sent by bettors are in fact computed by the game. It is also checked whether promised prizes are actually made available.
Countries such as the United States, England and Australia have had laws in place for many years and with processes that are often similar to what is now required in Brazil, including certification. And most of the companies associated with the IBJR operate in these locations.
In some cases, they also have shares listed on the stock exchange, which implies compliance with strict rules focused on transparency and compliance with local legislation. In addition, all IBJR members are part of or associated with national or international sports integrity monitoring bodies. This means that they have a high level of maturity in adopting solutions now required by the Brazilian government.
Source: Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming
