The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) has partnered with the Professional Footballers’ Association Canada (PFA Canada) to provide sports integrity education to staff and players within the Canadian Premier League (CPL).
The two-year course is set to start in May and will provide education on various topics surrounding sports betting-related match-fixing. The course will take on roughly 300 CPL members and will include in-person training and access to online resources. In-person sessions are set to teach topics such as rules and sanctions, and the efficiency of sports integrity monitoring technology.
The program will include IBIA members including bet365, FanDuel and Betway and is part of a CA$300,000 (US$218,878) commitment by the IBIA to wider sports education. The commitment is set to last three years and will include both the current two-year education program and a second program set to be repeated in 2025.
IBIA CEO Khalid Ali said, “IBIA’s members take their role – as responsible regulated betting operators – in protecting the integrity of sporting competition and of betting markets seriously. Alongside balanced, efficient and evidenced-based regulation, protecting soccer players, staff and officials from being targeted by criminals is an essential first step to stamping out sports-betting related match-fixing and fraud.”
IBIA Education Ambassador Jean-Francois Reymond added, “We look forward to working with PFA Canada to further protect the Canadian Premier League from the threat of sports-betting related match-fixing.”
The IBIA has taken on several new members in the past month, with both Soft2Bet and Glitnor Group joining in April. The sports betting education program also comes shortly after lottery and gaming corporations from eight provinces voiced concerns over sports betting advertising in Canada, specifically outside of licensed provinces.
