The Asian Football Confederation (AFC)’s resolve to protect and safeguard the beautiful game in Asia was further underlined today through the signing of a four-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA).

Moving forward, the AFC and IBIA will work closely to detect irregular betting patterns and suspicious activities in football matches across Asia. IBIA, through its Monitoring and Alert Platform, will share real-time data on suspicious betting activity with the AFC, further enhancing the AFC’s abilities to promptly investigate potential match manipulation.

The AFC General Counsel and Director of Legal Affairs, Mr. Andrew Mercer said: “The AFC’s Vision and Mission has outlined our steadfast ambitions to uphold the highest ethical and sporting standards, and we are committed towards preserving our key tenets of fair play and integrity.

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“Leveraging on strong collaborations with the world’s leading organisations is imperative to our fight against match-fixing and this MoU with IBIA further strengthens our ability to ensure football in Asia remains clean for the benefit of our future generation of fans, players and all our valued stakeholders.”

Khalid Ali, CEO of IBIA, said: “Cooperation is a vital part of any effective integrity monitoring and investigatory framework and IBIA is delighted to be able to strengthen its relationship with the AFC through this important information sharing collaboration. For its part, IBIA will seek to safeguard the AFC ecosystem by utilising the monitoring of its members’ global customer account activity, which covers over $300bn in sports betting per annum.”

Mr. Mercer, added: “The AFC is committed to promoting integrity, ethics, and fair play in Asian football and we are pleased to work with IBIA as we strive to enhance our capabilities to monitor and address suspicious activities, ensuring that football in Asia is safeguarded from the threats of match manipulation.”

The MoU between the AFC and IBIA marks a significant step forward in the fight against match-fixing in Asian football with both organisations dedicated to creating a secure environment for the sport, fostering trust amongst fans, players and all stakeholders.

The UK Gambling Commission has appointed two new members to the Advisory Board for Safer Gambling (ABSG), Dr Virve Marionneau and Dr Spencer Murch.

Anna van der Gaag, Chair of ABSG, said: “We are very fortunate to have Virve and Spencer as our newest members.

“They are highly respected academics, both with a strong record of achievement in the field of gambling studies, and together they will expand the national and international research expertise we offer to the Commission. Gambling is a global business and the regulatory challenges faced in different jurisdictions have much in common. I am delighted to be welcoming them and have no doubt they will bring valuable new insights to an ever-expanding range of topics which inform policy and practice in gambling regulation.”

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Dr Marionneau is a sociologist and the director of the Centre for Research on Addiction, Control and Governance at the University of Helsinki, Finland.

Her research focuses on a wide range of gambling-related topics, including regulations and policy evaluations, digital gambling environments, gambling industry practices and qualitative investigation of gambling experiences and harms.

She said: “I am honoured to join the ABSG, especially at a time when increasing international and cross-sector collaboration is needed to regulate and control gambling. I am thrilled to be a part of this impressive team of experts, and I look forward to advising particularly on regulatory practices and research from other jurisdictions.”

Dr Murch is a cognitive psychologist and AGRI Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Calgary, Canada. His work seeks to:

• understand the cognitive, behavioural and psychophysiological profiles of addictive digital product use

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• explore new opportunities for improving human health by using emerging Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to detect, intervene and ultimately prevent gambling-related problems.

He said: “I am eager to contribute to such a talented team as the ABSG. As AI technologies and digital gambling opportunities continue to evolve, it is more important than ever to understand clearly the threats posed to human health in the United Kingdom and around the world. The mandate of this group is important, timely, and represents an opportunity to transform research insights into working harm prevention policies.”

Playnetic, the new B2B iGaming provider, has received regulatory approval from the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA).

The news sees the innovative gaming content provider recognised by the MGA, allowing Playnetic to provide its captivating portfolio of games to Maltese licensed operators. This strategic move allows the company to secure partnerships in one of the most prominent online gambling markets in the world, further solidifying its global footprint.

The major milestone comes fresh from a successful exhibition stand at the SBC Summit Lisbon, where the company launched a range of new game titles, including Patrick vs Joker and Medusa’s Fury. Both titles were showcased as the feature games at the show, with a range of activities including daily tournaments and prizes as well as the signature ‘Playnetic Cocktails’.

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In the last few months, the company has secured licences in both Sweden and Romania, with recognition in Malta further expanding Playnetic’s reach. This success allows the company to continue its ambitious expansion plans in regulated markets across the globe.

Dan Phillips, Playnetic CEO said: “We’re delighted to have gained our recognition notice in Malta, where there continues to be incredible market potential, and we’re excited to have gained recognition in yet another country so quickly.

“This achievement sees us push forward with our goal of becoming a trusted and reliable partner, focussed on offering quality innovative games to operators on time, every time.  The recognition notice also demonstrates Playnetic’s commitment to upholding the highest standards of regulatory compliance.

“This is just the beginning. Playnetic is actively pursuing additional licenses, demonstrating our unwavering commitment to global expansion. Securing this approval from the Malta Gaming Authority fresh off the back of the exciting discussions at SBC Summit Lisbon, underscores our commitment to expanding our reach and offering our partners even more opportunities.”