Betting watchdog flags suspicious football matches in Burundi

The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) has raised concerns over potential match-fixing in Burundi football, after detecting five suspicious betting patterns in the country during the third quarter of 2024.

The alerts from Burundi, all related to football matches, represented a significant 12% of all suspicious betting activities reported globally between July and September. This cluster of cases is particularly noteworthy as they mark the first suspicious betting patterns detected in Burundi since 2020.

These findings were part of IBIA's broader quarterly report, which identified 42 suspicious betting cases across five sports worldwide. Football and tennis jointly led the alert count with 14 cases each, collectively accounting for two-thirds of all reported incidents.

While Europe remained the primary source of suspicious betting activity with 14 alerts across various sports, the five Burundi football cases made Africa a significant hotspot for potential match manipulation during this period.

The IBIA continues to monitor betting patterns and works closely with sports governing bodies and regulatory authorities to maintain integrity in sports betting markets worldwide.