SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Sportradar has launched a new Social Media Integrity Education Service offering athletes and sports stakeholders the tools to identify integrity risks from social media platforms.
The Penny Del, Germany’s Ice Hockey League, is among the first organisations to sign up to the new service.
The programme will comprise a series of webinars and workshops, in addition to tutorials which will educate both clubs and players on the integrity risks that can arise as well as guidance on how to protect themselves and the reputation of their clubs.
Andrew Whittingham, Head of Education Integrity Services at Sportradar, said: “The integrity and reputational risks which can arise when using social media are far-reaching.
“Not only can failing to act with integrity online put individual users at risk of harm, it can also pose threats to the integrity of teams or clubs, leagues or competitions, or sport as a whole.
“We’re excited to be working closely with Penny Del and we commend the robust approach they’re taking to social media integrity education.
“By combining sessions to educate players, referees and officials simultaneously they are ensuring all participants in ice hockey understand the individual and collective responsibilities they have to maintain the highest integrity standards.”
The initiative will assess issues such as inappropriate online content and behaviour, the threat of inside information, match-fixing or betting corruption and doping.
“We are delighted about the cooperation with Sportradar,” added Gernot Tripcke, General Manager at Deutsche Eishockey Liga GmbH & Co. KG. “The players of the clubs are all active on social media several times a day and naturally want to make their own accounts as professional as possible.
“The workshops will definitely be helpful in proceeding with the greatest possible security in the social media area. Equally, it’s about anti-manipulation, which has always been extremely important to us as a league.”
