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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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Betano says it will fund weekly training for 192 athletes with Down syndrome and support the FUT21 National Tournament pathway ahead of October.
Betano has partnered with Fundación Empate to launch an adapted football-friendly tournament in Argentina, as part of the operator’s “Desafiá tus límites” (Challenge Your Limits) corporate responsibility programme.
The company said the partnership will support 192 athletes with Down syndrome by funding weekly practices, while also providing operational resources to strengthen training in the run-up to the FUT21 National Tournament in October. Fundación Empate describes FUT21 as Argentina’s main futsal competition for athletes with Down syndrome, bringing together delegations from across the country.
Germán Laborda, President of Fundación Empate, said: “For us, this support means much more than financial aid. It is a concrete opportunity for our players to keep growing, training, and showcasing all their talent. Having companies like Betano get involved in real inclusion helps bring visibility to the enormous effort and commitment of each member of our foundation.”
Alvaro Ferreres, Betano Country Manager for Argentina, added: “At Betano, we understand that social responsibility means getting truly involved and supporting the people behind every story. Supporting the players of Fundación Empate means proving that a company can be an ally that drives opportunities, inclusion, and development through sports.”
Beyond athlete funding, Betano said it will develop Teacher Training Workshops for Inclusive Sports aimed at more than 800 sports professionals, including coaches, physical education teachers and physiotherapists, as well as teams for athletes with Down Syndrome. The company positioned the initiative as part of its broader adapted sports activity under “Desafiá tus límites”, which it said also includes support for Argentina’s national blind football team, Los Murciélagos (The Bats).
The post Betano partners Fundación Empate on adapted football program in Argentina appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
In a seven-day Onclick campaign, Social Traffic delivered 23.3% of registrations from 17.3% of impressions, the company reports.
PropellerAds has published new user acquisition results from a seven-day game registration campaign in Nigeria, reporting that its “Social Traffic” segment outperformed overall traffic on registrations and revenue efficiency.
According to the company, Social Traffic represented 17.3% of total impressions (20,076 of 115,671) but delivered 23.3% of registrations (199 of 853) and 24.5% of revenue ($96.06 of $392.46). Registrations per 1,000 impressions rose to 9.91 for Social Traffic versus 7.37 campaign-wide, a 34.5% increase. Revenue per 1,000 impressions (RPM) increased to $4.78 versus $3.39, up 41%.
Social Traffic is a targeting subtype within PropellerAds’ Onclick/Popunder format. When enabled on the company’s Self-Service Platform (SSP), ads are served only in placements where a user arrived from a social network such as Facebook or Instagram immediately before landing on the publisher’s page.
PropellerAds attributed the performance gap to browsing context and user intent, arguing that users coming from social platforms are more likely to complete multi-step actions such as registration. Petros Sofroniou, Account Strategist at PropellerAds, said: “In highly competitive user acquisition environments, traffic quality is increasingly critical. In practice, Social Traffic helps advertisers reach users who are more engaged and willing to take action, thereby improving registration performance in campaigns.”
The company positioned the results against what it described as a rapidly expanding Nigerian games market, citing estimates of a $3.5 billion market with roughly 60 million active users and 61% year-over-year growth. PropellerAds said it recommends testing Social Traffic as a dedicated segment and, where results hold, splitting it into a separate campaign for clearer optimization signals; it also suggested using roughly 20× target CPA as a test budget and running tests for 36–48 hours, while noting performance can vary by market and product.
The post PropellerAds says Social Traffic lifts game registrations 34.5% in Nigeria test appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Créditos: Giovanna Shirassu/CriaMov
Marca reuniu mais de mil convidados entre ex-atletas, influenciadores e artistas para celebração inspirada em uma das tradições culturais mais populares do país, durante o principal momento do futebol internacional em 2026
O maior São João brasileiro realizado fora do Brasil tomou conta de Miami na última terça-feira (23). Promovido pela Betnacional e organizado pela AMG, agência especializada em posicionar grandes marcas brasileiras nos Estados Unidos, reuniu mais de mil convidados e levou uma das manifestações culturais mais populares do país para os Estados Unidos justamente no período em que a cidade concentra milhares de brasileiros acompanhando o principal momento do futebol mundial.
Realizado no Jóia Beach Club, o São João Betnacional transformou o espaço em um grande arraial à beira-mar, reunindo música, gastronomia típica, experiências interativas e referências às tradições juninas celebradas em todas as regiões do Brasil. A proposta foi transportar para Miami a atmosfera de uma das festas mais emblemáticas da cultura brasileira e proporcionar aos convidados uma experiência de conexão com suas origens mesmo longe de casa.
“Tem coisa mais brasileira do que isso? De um lado, milhares de pessoas reunidas para viver a emoção de acompanhar a Seleção. Do outro, o São João acontecendo por todo o país. A gente quis trazer essas duas paixões para o mesmo lugar. E não de qualquer jeito. Fizemos questão de construir um São João de verdade, com respeito às tradições, à música, à cultura e às pessoas que fazem essa festa ser tão especial. Ter o Movimento Verde e Amarelo com a gente tornou tudo ainda mais simbólico. Foi uma noite para celebrar o Brasil em sua essência”, afirma Jorge Peixoto, Head de Brand Experience da Betnacional.
E o encontro entre essas paixões também se refletiu no público presente. O evento reuniu personalidades brasileiras, influenciadores, atletas, artistas e convidados especiais, que vem acompanhando a trajetória da seleção nos Estados Unidos.
Tradição brasileira em solo americano
A autenticidade da experiência também esteve presente nas atrações da noite. Entre os destaques da programação estavam a apresentação da quadrilha junina e os shows da cantora Gabi Lacombe, artista radicada nos Estados Unidos que levou ao evento o tradicional forró pé de serra, e do músico Rafa Mesquita, com um repertório marcado pela música brasileira contemporânea. Com apresentações cheias de energia e identidade, os artistas ajudaram a transportar para Miami o clima característico do São João brasileiro.
The post Betnacional realiza o maior São João brasileiro fora do Brasil em Miami appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
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