The Professional Pickleball Association this week announced a partnership with Integrity Compliance 360 (IC360) to monitor its PPA Tour for fair play better.
Seeking to expand its product to more legal sports betting states in the US, the PPA, headquartered in Las Vegas, is bringing on a third-party monitor to oversee the legal betting activity surrounding its competitions. IC360 is a leading sports betting integrity firm that provides compliance solutions for sportsbooks and leagues.
As a leader in the sports betting integrity monitoring field, IC360 will help educate, guide, and provide crucial oversight of professional pickleball in the betting sphere,” said Justin Mader, the PPA’s gambling operations manager. “Our goal is to provide an engaging sports betting product while maintaining the integrity and fair play standards on the PPA Tour, and the partnership with IC360 will further solidify this foundation.”
The Sports and Fitness Industry Association named pickleball as the fastest-growing sport in the US in 2021, 2022, and 2023. Today, there are an estimated 36.5 million pickleball players in the US and the game is forecast to continue growing through at least 2028.
Pickleball Popularity
Pickleball’s origins date back to the mid-1960s when the game was developed in Washington State. Pickleball has since become the state’s official sport.
Pickleball involves elements of tennis and table tennis but has its own specific rules and court dimensions. The hard plastic ball used in pickleball also produces less bounce than a tennis ball.
Pickleball’s rise in popularity over the past decade has resulted in many country clubs, fitness centers, community associations, and neighborhood parks incorporating pickleball courts. The game’s appeal has also lent to sports betting where bettors continue to seek lines for PPA tournaments.
Pickleball betting at regulated sportsbooks, however, remains limited to just 10 of the nearly 40 legal sports betting jurisdictions in the US. Being a niche sport where there are far fewer eyes on the game compared with one of the “big four” leagues, some state regulators have been hesitant to allow their sportsbooks to take action on PPA events.
Bringing on IC360 will help satisfy integrity concerns and a PPA player’s potential ability to fix a match. IC360 will deploy ProhiBet, an advanced, fully encrypted, decentralized cross-monitoring notification platform to supervise PPA betting activity.
ProhiBet is designed to safeguard sports integrity and ensure adherence to state-specific regulations. The tool also plays a crucial role in ensuring prohibited persons don’t engage in sports betting, which for the PPA, includes players, coaches, officials, and league staff.
24/7 Monitoring, Analysis
IC360 says its ProhiBet platform keeps tabs on its partnered leagues around the clock to “proactively identify irregular watering patterns.” The partnership, the PPA hopes, will bring increased transparency to the PPA Tour and ideally make the game more suitable for legal sports betting.
Sports betting has been cited for increasing interest, viewership, and overall fan engagement for the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, and college sports.
Next month, the first Las Vegas Pickleball Cup, a PPA-sanctioned tournament, will be held at the Fontainebleau on the Strip. Among the legal sports betting states where bettors will be offered odds on the tourney are Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Oregon, Tennessee, Washington, and Wyoming.
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