A poll conducted by international research and data analytics group YouGov in the UK and US revealed slightly different results in terms of what influence match-fixing has on bettors and esports bettors.

US vs UK

The survey “How does match-fixing influence betting and viewership?” carried out online with 1,200 British and 1,200 US adults discovered that a combined 43% in the UK and 55% in the US state match-fixing has some influence on their betting to outline the differences between the mature UK sports betting market and the gaining speed wagering on sports across more and more US jurisdictions.

YouGov’s data, weighted by age, gender, education level, religion and social grade, and assessed to be representative for the adults in both countries, revealed that 26% of British bettors are somewhat influenced by match-fixing in their wagering, as opposed to 22% of US adults stating the same.

The balance is shifted in the other direction for adults who state their betting patterns are highly influenced by match-fixing – 33% in the US as opposed to just 17% in the UK, while 31% of British and 24% of American bettors state match-fixing do not influence them at all.

In terms of different sports affected by match-fixing, gamblers in the UK ranked boxing, horse racing and soccer in the top three, ranking 47%, 43% and 42%, respectively, among the respondents. In the US, the top three ranks were occupied by boxing, football and horse racing with 35%, 27% and 26%, respectively.

In the UK, other sports that got ranked were cricket with 30%, tennis with 21%, esports with 19%, Formula 1 with 17%, rugby and golf with 15% and 12%, respectively. In the US, the ranking was completed by baseball with 23% and mixed martial arts with 22%.

Match-Fixing Is Increasing

What is even more worrying is the belief in the UK that match-fixing is far from being eradicated, as 24% of the respondents said the amount of match-fixing in professional sport was increasing, with another 33% firmly believing that it was staying at the same levels. Only 8% of the survey participants stated that the event is being gradually eradicated.

Almost half of the respondents, 49%, said tackling match-fixing is up to sports governing bodies, with another 15% believing it is up to the government or enforcement agencies to deal with the issue. Just 13% of sports bettors responded that match-fixing is an issue of the teams, while another 5% believe it is up to the leagues to deal with the matter.

A majority of the respondents, though, 71%, stated firmly that match-fixing would turn them off watching sports, with just 9% of the answers claiming they would be unaffected. The remaining 20% said they were not sure.