(Bloomberg) — Perform Group Plc’s RunningBall unit, which supplies real-time soccer match data, is investigating false information it relayed to bookmakers amid concern reporters could be induced to help commit betting fraud.
Huenenberg, Switzerland-based RunningBall, which says it employs 1,000 observers in 70 countries, said in a statement two days ago that it was “aware of irregularities” around a supposed Aug. 4 exhibition match between Spain’s Ponferradina and Freamunde of Portugal. U.K. bookmaker Gala Coral Group Ltd. said the game didn’t take place and it will refund losing bets. Betfair Group Plc, which voided bets, said RunningBall’s scout failed to realize Freamunde was playing another team.
Shares of Feltham, England-based Perform, which acquired RunningBall for as much as 120 million euros ($160 million) in 2012, fell 0.4 percent to 226.6 pence in London yesterday. Perform also produces online sports content, and runs Chelsea Football Club’s website.
RunningBall’s investigation continues and there is no proof of any impropriety by the scout, who hasn’t been identified, a spokesman for the company said by phone from London. In a 2012 regulatory filing, Perform said RunningBall has a “rigorous” recruitment process for match reporters and provides constant training and supervision.
Brussels-based Federbet, which monitors betting to look out for match fixing, says scoring in 11 exhibition soccer games might have been manipulated in Europe between Jan. 9 and May 25. Although there is more recent evidence of soccer players being bribed by fraudsters, scouts who send match statistics via smartphones could be induced to send false data or delay information, according to Chris Eaton, a former head of security at soccer ruling body FIFA who is now a director at Doha, Qatar- based International Center for Sport Security.
Bogus Fixtures
“Bookmakers have no way of knowing all the information is accurate,” Eaton said by phone.
After the supposed Aug. 4 game, Freamunde’s website showed the result of the exhibition at 2-1 to Ponferradina, and flagged two bogus future exhibition games against other lower-league Spanish clubs Sabadell and Lugo, Barranca said, adding that the website may have been hacked. Freamunde said in a statement it had nothing to do with the “regrettable” incident, Lusa news agency reported.
It’s “almost impossible” to find out how much was wagered on the game, including in Asia, where betting is largely unregulated, according to Scott Ferguson, an industry consultant and former Betfair education officer.
Remote Locations
The level of fixing in soccer has risen with the increase of real-time betting by companies including Betfair, according to Mark Griffiths, a professor of gambling studies at the U.K.’s Nottingham Trent University. According to a 2012 study of Eastern European soccer by global player union FIFPro, 12 percent of the 3,357 players interviewed had been approached to fix games. Out of those 55 percent didn’t have their salaries paid on time.
“Given scouts earn considerably less money than players it wouldn’t surprise me” if they are more vulnerable to bribes, Griffiths said in an e-mail.
RunningBall’s data are checked against match referee reports and any possible irregularities are immediately investigated, RunningBall’s spokesman said. Still, it’s easier for an observer in a remote location at a game that isn’t televised to manipulate the betting market than a player, Ferguson said by phone from London.
“In a soccer match, you probably need three or four players to influence the outcome of a game,” he said.
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