Press Release

BETFAIR PLC and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) information sharing agreement. The MoU enables the two organisations to share information on potential betting integrity related issues relevant to any cricket played under the auspices of the ECB, including England international matches and all County cricket matches.

The agreement acts as a safeguard against any betting integrity issue within cricket, allowing Betfair to share any relevant customer and transactional data with the ECB, as well as providing the ECB with access to the expert analysis of Betfair’s market leading integrity team.

Cricket is Betfair’s fourth biggest sport by traded volume and the Company sees around 46,000 active customers bet on English Cricket each year, with around 90% of those placing a bet on England matches and 40% placing a bet on domestic fixtures.

Over the last 12 months Betfair offered 5,436 markets on English Cricket.

Commenting on the agreement, Martin Cruddace, Betfair’s Chief Legal & Regulatory Affairs Officer said: “The interests of sports governing bodies, like the ECB, and Betfair are completely aligned in wanting to ensure sport is free from corruption and that consumers can bet in a transparent manner on exciting sporting events. If we are to protect the sports we all love then both parties must continue to work openly and co-operatively, and this agreement is a clear example of just that.”

ECB’s Anti-Corruption Manager, Chris Watts said: “The ECB welcomes Betfair’s commitment to share any relevant information and data relating to betting patterns on international and domestic cricket. This will form part of our on-going efforts to protect the integrity of the sport and help ensure that cricket at all levels is free from the taint of corruption.”

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About Betfair: (www.betfair.com)
Betfair is The World’s Biggest Betting Community having pioneered the betting exchange in 2000.

The exchange model allows customers to choose their own odds and uses cutting–edge technology to perfectly match bets ensuring more efficient and transparent betting markets. The company now processes over seven million transactions a day from its four million registered customers around the world. In addition to sports betting, Betfair offers a portfolio of innovative products including casino, exchange games and poker.

Betfair has twice been named the UK’s ‘Company of the Year’ by the Confederation of British Industry and has won two prestigious Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, being recognised for Innovation in 2003 and most recently for International Trade in 2008. Betfair currently employs over 2,000 people worldwide. The company holds betting licences in Gibraltar, the US, Tasmania, Italy and Malta.

About Betfair’s Memoranda of Understanding:

The ECB is one of the 55 sports governing bodies around the world which Betfair has signed an MoU with since its pioneering agreement back in 2003 with the Jockey Club (now the British Horseracing Authority).

About Betfair’s Monitoring Systems:

Betfair tracks every bet that is placed on its website, with the account and financial details behind every transaction fully traceable. Should suspect betting patterns be detected by its integrity team, Betfair will share this information with a MoU partner, who also has the ability to request information from Betfair in the event they deem it necessary to do so.

About the England and Wales Cricket Board

ECB was formed in 1997 and is the single national governing body for cricket in England and Wales. ECB was the first national governing body in world cricket to publish an Anti-Corruption Code and in 2011 set up an ACCESS (Anti-Corruption, Education and Security) unit under the Chairmanship of the former Chief Constable of Dorset, Ms Jane Stichbury CBE.