Betting suspended on Australian Open mixed doubles match

Yesterday Australian gambling website Pinnacle Sports suspended betting ahead of the the match with Lara Arruabarrena and David Marrero against Andrea Hlavockova and Lukasz Kubot, the New York Times reports.

After the match, Arruabarrena and Marrero dismissed the idea that match fixing was involved.

Since reports emerged last week that 16 players were repeatedly flagged over suspicions they had thrown matches, tennis officials have emphasised consistently that betting patterns alone are not evidence of match-fixing. Victoria Police said in a statement emailed to Mashable it continues to liaise with Tennis Australia throughout the 2016 tournament and it will not comment on any operational matters.

Pinnacle Sports, one of the most influential betting sites in the world shut their books when the money came in hard on Hlavackova and Kubot which the head of their sportsbook said in the New York Times could be an indication of match fixing.

“In context, these matches are rather small”, Blume said.

Just before the Australian Open began, the world of tennis was rocked by allegations of widespread match-fixing. “That means that any aggressive betting behavior is very easy to detect on our side”.

Mixed doubles matches – particularly first round matches – typically generate minimal gambling action, however more than $US25,000 had been wagered through betting exchange Betfair. Pinnacle Sports suspended betting about 13 hours before the match was due to be playes.

The Tennis Integrity Board has been contacted for comment regarding the doubles match in question. People close to players can pass on inside information – such as knowledge of an injury – to pro gamblers, who then wager accordingly. Marrero said he was battling an injury in explaining the pair’s performance, which included 12 unforced errors to Hlavackova and Kubot’s four.

A spokeswoman for the International Tennis Federation told The Times that the organisation had not been notified of any suspicious activity.

Marrero is ranked 32nd among men in doubles, while Arruabarrena is the 33rd among women; Kubot is ranked 28th among men, and Hlavackova is 20th among women.