Integrity Compliance 360, a sports betting monitor, has flagged unusual wagering activity on a men’s college basketball game between Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan.
ESPN obtained a copy of an alert distributed by the company to sportsbooks, gaming regulators, NCAA conferences, and leagues. It stated that someone had attempted to place “their largest wager to date” on the tie between Central and Eastern Michigan colleges.
The alert adds that two other high stake wagers were made on the Central Michigan 1st Half spread, in Connecticut and Tennessee. It reads, “While investigating, the operator also found two other high stakes wagers from two accounts in a different jurisdiction, both on Central Michigan 1st Half spread.”
Suspicious betting activity could be interlinked
It is the second time this season that a game involving Eastern Michigan has been flagged by sports wagering operators. The other game in question involved Wright State and took place on Saturday 21 December 2024.
Notably, both patterns of suspicious betting activity were against Eastern Michigan, and the alert suggests they could be interlinked, stating: “At this time, there is belief of a potential tie between these bettors, and bettors who placed suspicious wagers on First Half markets in flagged games last season.”
A spokesperson for Eastern Michigan told ESPN, “We became aware of the matter on Wednesday and a review is underway. At this time we do not know anything further about what may have precipitated the suspicious activity. We are working with the Mid-American Conference and will provide further details as we learn additional information.”
The spread on the first half opened at Central Michigan -3.5, and moved to -6.5 before the beginning of the game. In the seconds before the buzzer, they scored a three-point attempt to lead 39-33 at the midpoint. The bet on the other Eastern Michigan game flagged for suspicion was Wright State -2.5 at the halfway mark. Wright State went into Q3 leading 38-27 before ultimately losing the match.
The Broader Impact of Suspicious Betting on Sports Integrity
Sportradar’s 2024 Integrity in Action report showed a 17% decrease in suspicious matches detected year-over-year. The report found basketball as the second most affected sport, with 187 matches being flagged as suspicious. This was still comfortably behind soccer, which had 721 flags. The company does, however, point out that no single sport exceeded a 0.5% suspicious match ratio.
The rise of cryptocurrency gambling has made wagering on sports globally easier. Although match-fixing in Asian soccer has declined over recent years, illegal gambling which has driven the match-fixing has grown.
Sportradar’s Director of Intelligence and Investigation Services explained, “With key figures being imprisoned or disrupted and very high-profile cases being discussed in the media, match-fixing over the last five years has become much more fragmented.”
He added, “We have observed an increase in adoption of cryptocurrency as a payment method for illegal activities and a medium to bet.”
