Tackling match fixing at UEFA
Vincent Ven, Head of Anti-Match-Fixing, UEFA, Switzerland, presented on integrity and the organization of competitions, emphasized the three pillars used by the anti match fixing unit, of the UEFA Legal Affairs, Integrity and Regulatory Division, to combat match fixing.
“One match fixing case is one too many.”
Ven explained the work undertaken includes:
- Prevention collaboration policies
- Monitoring and intelligence
- Investigations
The community approach of the 55 national associations, which all have a dedicated integrity officer and work closely with UEFA, is key. Activities include investigations, education, awareness raising, disciplinary matters, and more, with UEFA as the central integrity point of contact.
As well as providing learning support and opportunities to exchange information, Ven underscored the importance of international stakeholder engagement with other organizations involved in fighting match fixing, such as the Council of Europe, International Olympic Movement, INTERPOL and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
Branco de Kock, Calendar and Regulations Manager, Football / Club Competitions Management, UEFA, Switzerland, explained why and how UEFA changed its competition format (Champions league), to become more inclusive in terms of number of clubs, and more dynamic.
How ULIS supports lotteries
Antoine Beghin, Director of Sponsorship and Sports Integrity, FDJ United, and member of the ULIS Executive Committee representing European lotteries described the missions of ULIS to:
- Prevent, detect and analyze irregular and suspicious betting activities that could question the integrity of a sport competition.
- Provide training to betting integrity stakeholders on risks linked to betting fraud.
- Cooperate with national and international stakeholders to preserve the integrity in sports.
These are realized through three key strategic activities:
- Stakeholder and policy-making
- Education / prevention/ culture ofintegrity
- Monitor, detect, analysis, exchangewith members
“ULIS global monitoring and sharing of alerts with lotteries allows lotteries to make better assessments, act faster and protect their betting offers.”
2025 Global Sports Betting Outlook
Christian Kalb, Managing Director, CK Consulting, France, presented trends, key figures and strategic shifts from the 2025 Report, which described the global sports betting market as driven by land-based casinos and online betting, and still the fastest growing market.
The survey used data from WLA/EL members, betting operators' annual reports, and information delivered by regulators and looked at topics including, among others:
- Global trends
- New countries to watch
- Combating illegal gambling markets
- Traditional sportsbook vs. prediction markets
- In-depth analysis of specific countries
- Regulations for taxation and advertising and the challenges
Bally’s Intralot offers supplier perspective
Richard Wagstaff, VP of Product and Chris Benstead, Director of Product at Bally’s Intralot, United Kingdom, gave their perspectives on the sports product experience and keeping customers in the regulated market.
Noting players didn't think about regulated versus unregulated, rather they played where it felt best for them and thought in terms of product, pricing, speed, and rewards.
“Sportsbook alone is a commodity. Retention lives in the ecosystem around it.”
Product experience was the main lever for winning and retaining customers in a regulated sports market, especially as access has tightened, customer behavior has become more fragmented, and trust now matters as much as product breadth.
The biggest commercial challenge was early customer drop-off, with many users leaving before ever placing a first bet, which implied the onboarding and pre-bet journey needed the most attention.
A way to address this was to close the gap with unregulated competitors through better in-product experiences across areas like sports depth, in-play, settlement and feedback, while turning regulatory trust into a differentiator rather than a constraint.
Turning regulatory complexity into market leadership
Cristiano Cinotti, Head of Profitability & Insight, SISAL, Italy, discussed how through MYCOMBO, the first bet builder in Italy, it was possible to turn regulatory complexity into market leadership.
Multi-market operating complexity was a strategic advantage. The MYCOMBO multi-brand, multi-country setup allowed SISAL to better navigate regulation than competitors and convert market friction into growth.
Cinotti also highlighted early commercial proof points and rollout momentum of a standout product innovation in Italy, with measurable uplift in key performance indicators, and a broader expansion path across brands, countries, and retail capabilities through 2026.
It was possible, though operational scale and regulatory execution to create durable leadership — with the elements of product performance, market structure, and organizational build-out.
How AI is evolving sports betting
According to Nicolo D’Ercole, EVP, Technology & AI at Sportradar, AI has changed the world, and it is transforming the betting ecosystem, moving from a market overview into concrete applications spanning data, audience intelligence, advertising technology, and adjacent sports/media stakeholders.
Artificial intelligence technologies provide new and more engaging ways to interact for instance:
- Sportradar BetConcierge, which can suggest bets, answer contextual questions, switch across matches. AI allows for multimodal content at scale, including articles, podcasts, videos and infographics.
- Targeted ads for specific audiences
- Enhanced content, such as live and personalized offers
- Fully vibe coded widgets that leverage Sportradar APIs and Services
D’Ercole concluded that AI platforms would continue to evolve to provide services that can be used by coding AIs and that are smart in combining traditional and Generative AI.
