The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has reveled that it is investigating two matches at this year’s Wimbledon Championship tournament following reports from bookmakers over irregular betting patterns before and during the matches.
Speaking to Reuters, an ITIA spokesperson said:
“Two alerts (were) provided to us during the Championships from the betting industry indicating possible irregular betting patterns.
“We are not able to comment on the detail of these while they are being looked into.”
The ITIA has revealed that it will investigate the reports to determine if anything untoward may have occurred in the lead up to or during the matches themselves. However, the agency has also stated that the reports of irregularities in betting activity don’t necessarily equate to evidence of match-fixing.
“It is important to note that an alert on its own is not evidence of match fixing. Where analysis of a match alert does suggest corrupt activity, the ITIA conducts a full and confidential investigation,”
The ITIA, previously known as the Tennis Integrity Unit, was set up in January of this year by the major governing bodies of tennis. The ATP, WTA, ITF, and Grand Slam Board wanted to create an independent agency that could identify and punish any irregularities in professional tennis worldwide including cheating and match-fixing among others.
The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club (AELTC) has said that it will support the ITIA in its investigation and also stated:
“We continue to invest in additional measures to support the integrity operation onsite during The Championships.”
The ITIA has yet to reveal the two matches under investigation or the betting markets in which the irregular patterns were noted.
Ciaran has been working within the Gambling Industry as a deep analyst since 2019. His deep knowledge and understanding of all the gambling regulations, and processes makes him a true asset, and an always valuable point of view for Gambling Industry News, allowing us to cover every topics from a brand new perspective.