The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, the federal government physique in control of regulating sports activities betting and playing in Canada’s most populous province, has ordered all licensed operators within the area to cease providing bets on occasions organized by the World Boxing Association (WBA).
The measure was on account of considerations over the integrity of these occasions after the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario dominated that boxing matches organized by the WBA should not have satisfactory safeguards in place in relation to stopping match fixing and insider betting. This all began after the regulator carried out a radical assessment of the wagering exercise of a title struggle organized by the World Boxing Association.
The respective bout was the one between Yoenis Tellez and Livan Navarro, when the Ontario regulator noticed suspicious betting patterns in reside bets being positioned over 5 and a half rounds through the match. The bout was noticed by two registered impartial screens whereas the betting exercise happened at a registered iGaming operator within the Canadian province.
There have been additionally reviews within the media claiming that the supervisor of Yoenis Tellez positioned bets value 110,000 {dollars} at a on line casino in Florida on the match going on for over 5 and a half rounds. The wager was a profitable one because the match went on till the tenth spherical, when Tellez managed to knock out Navarro.
All Eyes on Insider Betting
The match happened in December 2023 in Florida and that’s additionally when the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario began its assessment of the matter. One of the conclusions of the respective assessment was that bets associated to boxing matches organized by the WBA don’t meet the present model of the Registrar’s Standards for Internet Gaming. This led to the indefinite suspension of betting on WBA occasions in Ontario.
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario additionally underlined that its licensed operators have been requested to reveal that the WBA prohibits betting from insiders and the respective operators have been unable to do this. This signifies that coaches, managers, handlers or medical workers concerned with one of many fighters might place bets on the respective matches whereas having the advantage of figuring out private data. Moreover, the assessment discovered no proof that the World Boxing Association took any motion to research previous allegations of match fixing and insider wagering.
This shouldn’t be the primary time the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario takes such a measure. In December 2022 the regulator ordered licensed operators to cease providing bets on UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) matches following comparable considerations over insider betting. That ban lasted only for a number of weeks as a result of the UFC then applied new protocols to stop insider betting.
Source: “Ontario halts World Boxing Association betting over integrity concerns“. iGaming Business. April 19, 2024.