The initiative kicks off with a focus on digital assets, blockchain and payment innovation, bringing together perspectives from regulators and industry stakeholders.
The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) announces the launch of The Next Bet, a new thought-leadership initiative designed to bring together different perspectives on emerging technologies, market developments and regulatory challenges that could shape the future of regulated sports betting and integrity.
The first edition explores some of the fastest-developing technologies in the sector: digital assets, blockchain and evolving payment solutions.
As regulators develop new frameworks for digital assets and sports betting businesses explore alternative payment technologies, The Next Bet examines the role these innovations could play in the future of the industry and their potential implications for integrity, regulation and consumer protection.
“The industry is changing rapidly, and integrity frameworks need to anticipate those changes rather than react to them after the fact. The Next Bet creates a space for regulators, operators, sports, and other stakeholders to exchange perspectives on the issues that could shape the future of regulated sports betting. Digital assets sit at the intersection of technology, payments, regulation and compliance, making them a natural starting point,” said Khalid Ali, CEO of IBIA.
Three Perspectives on the Future of Digital Assets and Payments
Rather than seeking a single answer, the publication brings together three complementary perspectives from across the regulated betting ecosystem:
- Malta Gaming Authority (MGA): shares insights gained from its pioneering approach to digital asset regulation.
- Betsson Group: explores changing consumer payment preferences and the potential role of technologies such as stablecoins, alongside the regulatory, compliance, fraud prevention and responsible gambling considerations that could influence their adoption.
- Pay4Fun: examines how payment providers can strengthen market integrity through compliance, fraud prevention and transaction monitoring.
Khalid Ali added that one of the key messages emerging from these contributions is that the future of digital assets in regulated betting will not be determined by technology alone.
How regulators, payment providers and operators manage risks, maintain trust and work together will be equally important.
He explained that The Next Bet is not intended to provide all the answers, but rather to bring different perspectives together, challenge assumptions and encourage the conversations the industry needs to have about what comes next.
The Next Bet as Part of Mission 2030
The initiative forms part of IBIA’s Mission 2030, its strategic roadmap for responding to the regulatory, technological and market changes that will shape the future of sports betting integrity.
The strategy is built around three priorities: monitoring and detection, collaboration, and prevention.
Its ambition is to safeguard sports, athletes, betting operators and consumers from match-fixing and fraud, while supporting an environment in which the highest integrity standards are applied across regulated sports betting markets worldwide.
Industry Perspectives from Issue #1: Digital Assets, Payments and Integrity
The first edition of The Next Bet features contributions from specialists representing the participating organisations, offering insights into the challenges and opportunities surrounding the evolution of digital assets and payment solutions.
Nadia Calleja, Head of Legal for Payments & Customer Operations at Betsson Group, highlighted changing consumer expectations:
“Players now expect familiar payment methods that support instant deposits, near-instant withdrawals, one-click mobile payments and frictionless onboarding, while operators must balance conversion, cost, fraud prevention and regulatory compliance.”
Meanwhile, Sarah Vassallo, Senior Legal Counsel at Betsson Group, explained that crypto asset adoption in regulated iGaming markets is likely to focus on regulated, fiat-backed stablecoins embedded within established compliance frameworks.
From the payment services perspective, Leonardo Baptista, CEO and Co-founder of Pay4Fun, highlighted the increasingly important role of payment providers in protecting market integrity:
“Through robust compliance, fraud prevention, and anti-money laundering controls, payment providers play an increasingly strategic role in ensuring that innovation strengthens, rather than compromises, market integrity.”
Baptista also emphasised that innovation must evolve alongside regulation to ensure security, transparency and trust among all market participants, including consumers. Under these conditions, digital assets could represent a natural evolution of future financial infrastructure.
Finally, Martha Brincat, Chief Regulatory Officer at the Malta Gaming Authority, highlighted the potential of certain blockchain applications to improve transparency and traceability:
“Certain applications of blockchain technology may support greater transparency and traceability. Where appropriately used, they could add value to monitoring and investigative processes, supporting integrity oversight.”
She also explained that one of the key objectives for regulators is to ensure that consumers who choose to use digital assets can do so within a properly regulated environment, where both gambling activities and the supporting financial services are subject to effective regulatory oversight.
With this first edition, IBIA opens a space for dialogue on how financial and technological innovation can evolve alongside regulation, trust and the integrity standards needed to shape the future of sports betting.
Discover The Next Bet and explore its first edition:
