The World Cup kicks off next week in Qatar at a time when international soccer is under attack from match-fixing syndicates.
Sportradar, a prominent international firm that monitors the betting markets, says it identified approximately 600 potentially manipulated soccer matches in the first nine months of 2022. Most of the suspicious activity is centered on smaller leagues, involving players and officials that receive low compensation, and experts say it is unlikely that match-fixing syndicates would target an event as high-profile as the World Cup. But, with more than $100 billion expected to be wagered on the World Cup globally, FIFA is taking precautions.