The Biden administration is spending $2 million to fight match-fixing and corruption in Mexico’s sports betting market. The new grant is referred to as “Combating Sports Corruption,” according to grants.gov.

The grant seeks cooperative agreement between Mexican and American educational or nonprofit organizations and the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).

According to the INL, the new project will “seek to create and improve procedures and/or investigative techniques on anti-corruption and anti-money laundering related to sports.”

The $2 million grant will help fund “more effective collaboration between specialized prosecutors’ offices, financial intelligence units, sport’s governing bodies (e.g. Olympic committee, sports federations), and government agencies that regulate sports and sports betting.”

Per the general information box for Synopsis 2, the grant opened for applications on Aug. 23, 2024. The Department of State also confirmed that the closing date for applications is set for Oct. 23.

The Bureau of International Narcotics Matters (INM) was created in 1978 to reduce drug trafficking into the United States from Latin America.

INM soon expanded beyond combating drugs to supporting stabilization efforts in the Balkans. The agency then went on to fight corruption and transnational crime across the globe.

In fact, INM was re-established as the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) in 1995.

International Betting Integrity Association also collaborates with betting operators to combat corruption, match-fixing

Moreover, the Bureau uses a wide range of tools to counter crime, illegal drugs, and instability abroad. This includes foreign assistance, bilateral diplomacy, multilateral engagement, sanctions, and rewards.

According to the Bureau’s website, “INL has two complementary core competencies: helping partner governments assess, build, reform, and sustain competent and legitimate criminal justice systems, and developing and implementing the architecture necessary for international drug control and cross-border law enforcement cooperation.”

The INL’s goals in Mexico include reducing drug cultivation and production, securing borders, and disrupting illicit finance. The Bureau also works to professionalize police and reduce impunity.

Furthermore, the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA), the nonprofit association that works together with gambling operators to combat corruption and match-fixing, monitors global markets as well.

The IBIA recently announced an education program that will benefit Canadian athletes. This program came to fruition after receiving funding by leading operators and IBIA members: bet365, Betway, and FanDuel.

Americans wagered $119.84 billion in 2023, generating a total revenue of $10.92 billion, according to our sports betting statistics. In 2023, New York had the highest sports betting revenue in the U.S. with nearly $1.7 billion.