Starlizard flags 167 soccer matches as suspicious in 2023

The most current Football Integrity Report from Starlizard’s dedicated integrity section, Starlizard Integrity Services (SIS), provides information on dubious matches found in 2023.

This year, 167 soccer matches were identified as suspicious, according to the company.

The analysis of over 65,000 soccer matches worldwide served as the foundation for the study. Based on odd betting patterns that might indicate match-fixing, SIS chose these matches. Despite the fact that the degree of suspicion varied according to the evidence, they all discovered parallels that called for further research.

It’s interesting to note that the number of suspicious matches increased from 144 in 2022 to 167 in 2023—a 16% annual rise. But SIS clarified that the increase resulted from analyzing more matches in 2023.

Despite a rise in the quantity of tagged matches, the percentage of matches deemed suspicious dropped from 0.39% in 2022 to 0.26% in 2023.

The director of SIS, Affy Sheikh, credited increased data collection for revealing fresh information on possible match-fixing, which in turn led to an increase in the number of evaluated matches. Citing the concerning regularity of dubious matches, he expressed concern about the continued threat to football’s legitimacy.

According to SIS’s further study, the European region accounted for 41.3% of suspicious matches, whilst the Asian region had the highest percentage of suspicious matches (0.47%). In addition, out of the flagged matches, 25.2% came from leagues at the highest level, with almost half coming from domestic leagues that are just below the top tier.

It’s interesting to note that, while they accounted for 27% of the total in the first half, suspicious matches with betting activities climbed just in the first half, up from 4.2% in 2022.

Original story by: Gambling News