Higher risk of betting in IPL than bilateral ties, says Sportradar

They might have worked earlier with the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Cricket Australia (CA), but this will be Sportradar's first tryst with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). And having come on board for the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to monitor betting irregularities, the team is ready for some late nights as fans gear up for some scintillating action on the field.

By Baidurjo Bhose They might have worked earlier with the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Cricket Australia (CA), but this will be Sportradar's first tryst with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). And having come on board for the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to monitor betting irregularities, the team is ready for some late nights as fans gear up for some scintillating action on the field.

Speaking to ANI, Mona Motwani, Integrity Services Consultant, India, Sportradar said that the challenge is higher when it comes to a multi-team tournament like the IPL as compared to a regular bilateral series. "In a multi-team tournament like the IPL, especially where there are more teams and players in play, there is definitely more variables to contend with, which leads to a heightened risk level certainly," she said.

So is that something that the team is ready to face? Mona says that the tracking doesn't have to be at the location itself and can be done remotely and that is a big advantage. "Our monitoring systems track remotely in real-time which allows us to not be on location to be able to comprehensively track the number of games at the same time. Our analysts are also based remotely, with the latest technology and experience to allow efficient review and tracking of each game that will be played during the IPL season," she pointed.

Mona goes on to add that previous experience of having been involved with cricket definitely works when it comes to handling situations or scenarios. "We will be approaching this in a similar manner as we have done for various sports and other organizations. Sportradar has had experience in Cricket, having previously worked with the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Cricket Australia (CA) in similar capacities in supporting their anti-corruption and integrity services in the past," she said.

Interestingly, Mona says that individuals do play a role when it comes to 'betting attention'. And that means her team will have their work cut out when it comes to the IPL as it will see the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni, AB de Villiers, and Chris Gayle battling it out among others. "With the high profile players, comes along higher media and betting attention, and it has been shown that the IPL is in fact one of the top sports competitions in the world in terms of betting turnover," she said.

The IPL will be played across three venues this season -- Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah -- and gets underway on Saturday with Chennai Super Kings taking on defending champions Mumbai Indians. (ANI)

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