Match-fixing suspicions over Wimbledon doubles clash
A men's doubles match at Wimbledon has been reported to gaming and tennis authorities as suspicious after an "out of the ordinary" late shift in odds, the ABC can reveal.
International bookmaker Pinnacle Sports has confirmed the first-round match was "flagged as suspicious due to irregular betting patterns".
Pinnacle's sports integrity manager Sam Gomersall said the company noticed "a series of bets from accounts with a history of wagering on suspicious matches", which were placed in the hour before the match began.
This helped create a late shift in odds, which Mr Gomersall said was "another clear indication" of suspicious activity.
"We would anticipate some minor odds movement in any tennis match," he said.
"But the odds movement … just under an hour before it was due to start is certainly out of the ordinary.
"We followed our strict protocol when it comes [to] match-fixing alerts by notifying the authorities on site at Wimbledon and reducing our market offering immediately."
The ABC cannot identify the match for legal reasons, but has made efforts to contact the relevant players.
Another industry insider, who said he also flagged the match with authorities but did not want to be named, said the game attracted significant interest on betting markets.
However, the ABC is not aware of any bookmakers closing their books on this match, and a tennis betting analyst says the match did not attract suspicions with eastern European bookmakers.
The Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) would not comment on whether the match was under investigation.
"The TIU has become more transparent, hence our publication of [quarterly] match alert data, but that is also balanced against the need for operational confidentiality, as in this matter," a TIU spokesperson said.
The ABC has also contacted Wimbledon, the UK Gambling Commission and the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for comment.
Mr Gomersall said Pinnacle Sports was "committed to doing what we can to reduce the number of fixed matches in all sports".
"We will continue to work closely with local police forces and other similar organisations to assist the great work they are doing to combat match fixing in tennis."
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