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Lack of governance of football friendly (non-competitive) matches exploited by match-fixers
Football friendly matches are wide open for match-fixing due to a lack of regulation according to new research, with more than 250 friendlies involving European clubs showing signs of suspicious activity during 2016-20. The results come from a three-year study funded by the European Commission’s Erasmus+ programme and led by the University of Nicosia Research Foundation.
A survey of 700 players in Cyprus, Greece and Malta conducted by the project also found that:
- More than a quarter of players (26.5%) had played in a club friendly they suspected had been manipulated.
- More than a quarter (26.3%) of approaches to fix a friendly match were made by club officials and 15% by other players.
- Club officials were the instigators in 19% of approaches to manipulate friendlies and were the main beneficiaries in 26.3% of approaches.
The research study found that international and national football federations have been slow to establish where responsibility lies for friendlies, particularly when clubs from different countries are involved in non-competitive matches played in a third country. Some European football federations do not track where clubs go on pre-season and mid-winter tours.
This lack of sporting governance and regulation, combined with the availability of these games on betting markets around the world, notably with poorly or unregulated betting operators in jurisdictions such as Curaçao and the Philippines, who may themselves have links to criminality, leaves these games at greater risk of potential exploitation by match-fixers.
To address this, the report, Combating Match Fixing in Club Football Non-Competitive Friendlies, proposes:
- That UEFA enforces regulation of friendlies on all 55 member associations
- That match agents are barred from owning or controlling clubs, just as players agents are
- The formation of a body to represent match agents in future negotiations with international bodies such as FIFA and UEFA on regulation
- Establishing data standards that prevent the sale of live match data to poorly and unregulated betting operators
Unlike competitive matches, which are usually covered by agreements between data companies and competition organisers, friendlies are a free-for-all.
Data from these games is being collected and sold to poorly and unregulated betting operators, which do not report signs of suspicious activity, which is often a licensing requirement for well-regulated operators. This sporting event data collation and sale for betting does not currently fall within the scope of regulation, leaving a potential ‘blind spot’ in terms of market and consumer protection.
Lead investigator, Professor Nicos Kartakoullis, President of the Council, University of Nicosia, comments:
“The combination of a lack of regulation, oversight and information makes these matches easier to manipulate than competitive matches.
“This research shows that in terms of governance, friendly matches need to be considered just like competitive matches.
“With the data for 4,000 friendly matches being offered for betting purposes around the world each year, it is also vital that the betting companies receiving that data are operating from well-regulated jurisdictions and report suspicious betting to protect the integrity of those events.”
The research was led by the University of Nicosia Research Foundation and included the International Betting Integrity Association, EU Athletes, CIES and the football players unions of Cyprus, Greece and Malta as project partners.
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Traffy, a performance marketing agency specializing in in-app traffic, has seen a clear shift in how iGaming campaigns scale today.
The era of “launch and forget” in iGaming is over. The market has become more competitive, and users are more demanding than ever. Scaling campaigns is no longer just about volume — success now depends on the depth of analytics, the speed of response to user behavior, and traffic quality.
Market Transformation
In the past, scaling followed a simple logic: more traffic meant more conversions. Today, that approach no longer works. Users have become more selective, and both CPA and ROI are directly tied to post-deposit behavior.
If advertisers fail to track key performance indicators within the first 72 hours — including user activity, repeat deposits, and conversion to FTD — budgets are spent without control, and scaling turns into guesswork.
New Requirements for Scaling
Scaling campaigns today requires a much more structured approach:
- Funnel analysis within the first 72 hours to quickly identify effective setups
- Traffic segmentation and strict quality control
- Continuous monitoring of user activity, repeat deposits, and FTD conversion rates
If there is no positive performance trend within the first three days, the setup is stopped immediately. This allows teams to minimize losses and reallocate budgets toward high-performing campaigns.
Common Pitfalls of Legacy Approaches
Many operators and affiliates still rely on outdated strategies that limit their ability to scale effectively:
- Focusing solely on CPA without considering unit economics and profitability
- Scaling broadly without proper traffic segmentation
- Lack of predictive analytics in the early stages of campaigns
- Underestimating traffic quality and fraud risks
These issues lead to unstable performance, rising CPI, and a loss of control over ROI.
The Traffy Approach
At Traffy, we build scalable infrastructure designed to manage in-app traffic with a performance-first mindset.
- Traffic quality control: black and white lists, ongoing audits, and integrated fraud analytics
- AI-driven optimization: algorithms that predict campaign performance and dynamically reallocate budgets toward the most efficient setups
- Performance focus: real-time analysis of the first 72 hours, deep segmentation, and continuous monitoring of key metrics and ROI
This approach allows us to scale only the traffic that is proven to be profitable, reducing risks and improving predictability at scale.
Conclusion
A performance-driven approach has become essential for scaling In-App campaigns in iGaming. The key to success lies in deep analytics, traffic segmentation, predictive modeling, and strict control within the first 72 hours.
The market has changed — and those who succeed are not the ones who scale volume, but those who scale quality traffic.
At Traffy, this approach is at the core of how we build and scale campaigns, ensuring sustainable growth and measurable performance for our partners.
The post Scaling In-App Traffic in iGaming: A Performance-Driven Approach appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Traffy, a performance marketing agency specializing in in-app traffic, has seen a clear shift in how iGaming campaigns scale today.
The era of “launch and forget” in iGaming is over. The market has become more competitive, and users are more demanding than ever. Scaling campaigns is no longer just about volume — success now depends on the depth of analytics, the speed of response to user behavior, and traffic quality.
Market Transformation
In the past, scaling followed a simple logic: more traffic meant more conversions. Today, that approach no longer works. Users have become more selective, and both CPA and ROI are directly tied to post-deposit behavior.
If advertisers fail to track key performance indicators within the first 72 hours — including user activity, repeat deposits, and conversion to FTD — budgets are spent without control, and scaling turns into guesswork.
New Requirements for Scaling
Scaling campaigns today requires a much more structured approach:
- Funnel analysis within the first 72 hours to quickly identify effective setups
- Traffic segmentation and strict quality control
- Continuous monitoring of user activity, repeat deposits, and FTD conversion rates
If there is no positive performance trend within the first three days, the setup is stopped immediately. This allows teams to minimize losses and reallocate budgets toward high-performing campaigns.
Common Pitfalls of Legacy Approaches
Many operators and affiliates still rely on outdated strategies that limit their ability to scale effectively:
- Focusing solely on CPA without considering unit economics and profitability
- Scaling broadly without proper traffic segmentation
- Lack of predictive analytics in the early stages of campaigns
- Underestimating traffic quality and fraud risks
These issues lead to unstable performance, rising CPI, and a loss of control over ROI.
The Traffy Approach
At Traffy, we build scalable infrastructure designed to manage in-app traffic with a performance-first mindset.
- Traffic quality control: black and white lists, ongoing audits, and integrated fraud analytics
- AI-driven optimization: algorithms that predict campaign performance and dynamically reallocate budgets toward the most efficient setups
- Performance focus: real-time analysis of the first 72 hours, deep segmentation, and continuous monitoring of key metrics and ROI
This approach allows us to scale only the traffic that is proven to be profitable, reducing risks and improving predictability at scale.
Conclusion
A performance-driven approach has become essential for scaling In-App campaigns in iGaming. The key to success lies in deep analytics, traffic segmentation, predictive modeling, and strict control within the first 72 hours.
The market has changed — and those who succeed are not the ones who scale volume, but those who scale quality traffic.
At Traffy, this approach is at the core of how we build and scale campaigns, ensuring sustainable growth and measurable performance for our partners.
The post Scaling In-App Traffic in iGaming: A Performance-Driven Approach appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
Traffy, a performance marketing agency specializing in in-app traffic, has seen a clear shift in how iGaming campaigns scale today.
The era of “launch and forget” in iGaming is over. The market has become more competitive, and users are more demanding than ever. Scaling campaigns is no longer just about volume — success now depends on the depth of analytics, the speed of response to user behavior, and traffic quality.
Market Transformation
In the past, scaling followed a simple logic: more traffic meant more conversions. Today, that approach no longer works. Users have become more selective, and both CPA and ROI are directly tied to post-deposit behavior.
If advertisers fail to track key performance indicators within the first 72 hours — including user activity, repeat deposits, and conversion to FTD — budgets are spent without control, and scaling turns into guesswork.
New Requirements for Scaling
Scaling campaigns today requires a much more structured approach:
- Funnel analysis within the first 72 hours to quickly identify effective setups
- Traffic segmentation and strict quality control
- Continuous monitoring of user activity, repeat deposits, and FTD conversion rates
If there is no positive performance trend within the first three days, the setup is stopped immediately. This allows teams to minimize losses and reallocate budgets toward high-performing campaigns.
Common Pitfalls of Legacy Approaches
Many operators and affiliates still rely on outdated strategies that limit their ability to scale effectively:
- Focusing solely on CPA without considering unit economics and profitability
- Scaling broadly without proper traffic segmentation
- Lack of predictive analytics in the early stages of campaigns
- Underestimating traffic quality and fraud risks
These issues lead to unstable performance, rising CPI, and a loss of control over ROI.
The Traffy Approach
At Traffy, we build scalable infrastructure designed to manage in-app traffic with a performance-first mindset.
- Traffic quality control: black and white lists, ongoing audits, and integrated fraud analytics
- AI-driven optimization: algorithms that predict campaign performance and dynamically reallocate budgets toward the most efficient setups
- Performance focus: real-time analysis of the first 72 hours, deep segmentation, and continuous monitoring of key metrics and ROI
This approach allows us to scale only the traffic that is proven to be profitable, reducing risks and improving predictability at scale.
Conclusion
A performance-driven approach has become essential for scaling In-App campaigns in iGaming. The key to success lies in deep analytics, traffic segmentation, predictive modeling, and strict control within the first 72 hours.
The market has changed — and those who succeed are not the ones who scale volume, but those who scale quality traffic.
At Traffy, this approach is at the core of how we build and scale campaigns, ensuring sustainable growth and measurable performance for our partners.
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