Malta regulator announces partnership with Badminton World Federation

Gaming regulator The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) said that it formed a partnership with a data sharing partnership with The Badminton World Federation (BWF) Integrity Unit to share data.

Recent suspicious betting activity in the sport has brought about this much needed initiative which will scale up monitoring and investigations of match manipulation. This will lead towards a future of a ‘clean and fair sport’.

I am very pleased to see the Badminton World Federation added to the long list of Sports’ Governing Bodies whom the Authority already assists on a practical level, and we look forward to working with the BWF’s Integrity Unit on any issues that may arise” Antonio Zerafa – MGA Head of Financial Crime Compliance

This partnership is being recognised as crucial to the future of badminton. It will enable BWF to monitor and prevent suspicious betting and match fixing activity. The Secretary General of BWF, Thomas Lund explained that the partnership is very significant to the sport as the MGA will be able to facilitate sharing of data between betting operators to increase the integrity of the sport.

We see this as being a deterrent to potential corruptors of the sport as we continue to preserve the integrity of badminton.” Thomas Lund, Secretary General – Badminton World Federation Integrity Unit

Malta Gaming Authority

The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) regulates the gaming industry in the jurisdiction of Malta. The Authority ensures that licensed gaming operations are fair and transparent to all players, preventing crime, corruption and money laundering, whilst safeguarding the interests of players.

The Badminton World Integrity Unit

The integrity unit offers monitoring and investigation in all aspects of the sport that include anti-match fixing and anti-drug testing programmes with a view to identify individuals who are most at risk and monitor irregular activity in the sport. The monitoring and testing programmes target individuals to see whether they are compliant in terms of the anti-doping and anti-match fixing regulations and where appropriate, investigations are scaled up.

Player information is gathered, matches and competition details are analysed and intelligence is used in investigations into any circumstance of possible match manipulation with the support and advice of professional resources and partnerships.

The partnership with MGA will benefit BWF Integrity Unit’s capabilities to investigate suspicious betting activity on badminton matches and is part of continuing deterrent initiatives against corruption in the sport.

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