February 12 – Match-fixing is the scourge of sports. Hard to detect, and always shifting in shape and scope. However, according to Sportradar, suspected occurrences of the practice are dropping.
The integrity firm’s annual Integrity in Action report suggests that global efforts to mitigate manipulation across all sports are beginning to work.
After monitoring more than one million sporting events across 70 sports last year, Sportradar identified 1,116 suspicious matches. While only a 1% drop from the previous year, any decline should be applauded. More than 99.5 per cent of events were flagged as clean.
Europe topped the list for suspicious activity, but the number fell, with 66 fewer cases than the previous year. South America followed a similar path, recording 64 fewer alerts. Elsewhere, Asia, Africa, and North and Central America all saw small increases.
Football remains the sport most exposed to nefarious actors. Of the suspicious matches identified in 2025, 618 came from soccer, followed by basketball with 233.
Technology has become the frontline in identifying trends. A key driver in 2025 was Sportradar’s AI-powered Universal Fraud Detection System. By analysing betting data in real time, the system flagged 56 per cent more suspicious matches through AI analysis than the year before in the dance between algorithms and sophisticated fixers.
In 2025, Sportradar supported 125 sporting sanctions across seven sports and six continents, pushing its all-time total beyond 1,000. Educating participants remains the key to eradication. More than 34,000 athletes, officials and administrators took part in integrity programmes last year, a 25 per cent increase on 2024.
“The relative stabilisation of suspicious match numbers in 2025 is encouraging, yet it reinforces the importance of continued vigilance,” said Andreas Krannich, Sportradar’s Executive Vice President of Integrity Services. “Match-fixing remains an evolving threat, and sustained investment in technology, intelligence, education, and collaboration is essential.”
That vigilance will be tested again in 2026. The calendar is packed with global events, and while the reduced numbers suggest progress, the global sports calendar never allows for any rest.
Contact the writer of this story, Nick Webster, at moc.l1771517526labto1771517526ofdlr1771517526owedi1771517526sni@r1771517526etsbe1771517526w.kci1771517526n1771517526