Latest news with #ThreatMatrix
BBC News
18-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Gambling and social media abuse of women in sport - what is going on?
When tennis player Katie Boulter revealed to the BBC the shocking scale of social media abuse she receives on social media, she emphasised that many angry messages feature references to to Signify, which has been working with tennis authorities on detecting abuse through an artificial intelligence-led detection system called Threat Matrix, a significant proportion of abuse sent to tennis players stems from gamblers who have lost the year, a category they call 'angry gamblers' sent 40% of all detected abuse, with messages clearly related to betting activity because of the timing or content of the for a response, a Betting and Gaming Council spokesperson said its members "do not tolerate abuse on social media, which has no place in betting or sport".It added: "It is vital social media companies take swift action against users, and remove offensive content."BBC Sport has looked at what exactly is going on with the relationship between gambling, tennis, women in sport and online abuse. What do we know about gambling in tennis? Tennis tournaments are played all around the world throughout most of the year, making it one of the most popular sports for regular gamblers to bet on.A source at one of the world's largest multi-platform gambling operators told the BBC that more than £100m is bet on tennis matches worldwide each spread of bets is roughly even across men's and women's tennis, tipped slightly higher in favour of the men's game because more matches take place on its Challenger tour, according to this the United Kingdom, 13% of all sports betters gambled on tennis in 2023, meaning the sport ranked fifth behind horse racing, football, golf and boxing, according to a YouGov survey, 16% of tennis gamblers spend over £200 per month on bets, according to the data, and 34% of them use websites which offer loyalty schemes for regular customers. That means some UK tennis gamblers spend big and spend regularly, meaning the stakes are higher when they perhaps provides an indication as to why the abuse Boulter and other players suffer is so often focused around work with around 30 players on moderating their private messages, and the proportion of abuse that comes from 'angry gamblers' is 77%. How does tennis handle gambling sponsorships? As is the case with other sports, the relationship between tennis and gambling has been a source of controversy for many over potential match-fixing and ethics have historically led to a reluctance to form official betting sponsorships have become highly lucrative as gambling has moved online. In an era where high-profile players have campaigned for more prize money and a greater share of sponsor revenue, tennis has begun to demonstrate an increased willingness to work with gambling 2023, 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic said players should be given a higher proportion of the revenue generated from gambling sponsorships in tennis."Personally, I probably would not get a betting sponsor on my sleeve but I know that probably 95+% of the players would do that," Djokovic said. "I would support that, but if that's not allowed then what we would deserve to have is 50% of the share that the tournament gets from these sponsorship deals with betting companies." In February, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced an extension of a deal with Stake - the Curacao-based gambling company which also sponsors sports teams including the Sauber Formula 1 team, and Everton - making it the official betting partner of the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King was subsequently found to have broken UK Gambling Commission rules by using pornographic content to promote gambling to young people, and abandoned its licence to operate in the ITF deal remains in place, and the BBC has contacted the governing body for Madrid Open, the Miami Open and Swedish Open are now sponsored by South Africa-based 2023, the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) signed a multi-year agreement with online gaming company FanDuel Group, applying to the Tour in North, South and Central WTA also sells its data to the company Stats Perform and the ATP to Sportradar, for them to distribute to licenced betting decision to sell rights in this way was to ensure betting was regulated, replacing the unregulated world of 'courtsiders'. What about women and gambling? Historically, men have represented the majority of gamblers in the UK, but data shows that the proportion of women is Gambling Commission (UKGC) data, external from 2022 found that 42% of women had gambled in the previous four weeks, and that those aged 35 to 54 were most likely to figures also include non-sports forms of gambling like casinos, slot machines and online bingo, but women are targeted by sports betting platforms too.A 2024 survey conducted by Stats Perform found that 44% of betting operators said that they want to grow their number of female the USA, meanwhile, investment bank Morgan Stanley estimates that 32% of sports betters are now the gambling operator which runs Paddy Power, said that 24% of all bets placed through its FanDuel brand during the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris were on women's events, with 60% of football bets placed on women's matches and 79% of gymnastics bets on women's events. How much is the UK gambling industry worth? According to the UKGC's latest figures, gambling firms earned revenue of £15.6bn between April 2023 and March 2024, an increase of £0.5bn on the previous means the UK gambling industry is worth more than double the UK music industry (valued at £7.6bn according to UK Music) and video games industry (valued at £7bn according to Equity, the performing arts and entertainment trade union).According to estimates, UK gambling companies spent more than £1.5bn on marketing in recent years, with a large portion of that going to television adverts. This rises to closer to £2bn when sponsorships are factored Office for Health Improvement and Disparities estimates that there are between 117 and 496 gambling-related suicides, external every year in England. Have any new gambling regulations come into effect? There has been a tightening of regulations in recent years in relation to gambling's marketing and sponsorship in relation to sport. They include:The whistle-to-whistle ban on gambling advertisements in football, which was implemented in 2019, prohibiting pre-watershed gambling advertising on TV from five minutes before kick-off until five minutes after full-timeA 2022 update to a rule on appealing to children – prior to the change, gambling adverts could not have "particular" appeal to children, whereas now they cannot have "strong" appeal to childrenLate last year the government announced new plans, including a levy to generate £100m for the research, prevention and treatment of gambling harms, and online slot stake limits of £5 for over 25s and £2 for young adults aged 18 to May the Health and Social Care Committee set out further measures they want the UK government to take in order to better protect people from the possible harms from measures requested include strengthening rules on advertising, taking a risk-based approach to regulation, and to develop a public information campaign addressing the risk of gambling-related suicides.
Leader Live
18-06-2025
- Sport
- Leader Live
Katie Boulter ‘felt a lot of love' from response after revealing online abuse
The 28-year-old shared her experiences, which included death threats, with BBC Sport to highlight the issue of players encountering toxic messages on social media. Examples of the abuse included someone telling her to buy 'candles and a coffin for your entire family' with a reference to her 'grandmother's grave if she's not dead by tomorrow' and one stating she should 'go to hell' as she had cost the poster money. Katie Boulter has been inundated with support after she shared details of the online abuse she has received 🫶 — BBC Sport (@BBCSport) June 17, 2025 Since her interview aired, Boulter has been inundated with support. 'I looked on my phone this morning and literally there were hundreds of messages of people reacting to it and every single person was just telling me to disregard it and how much they love me and appreciate me bringing this subject into light,' she said following victory over Lulu Sun in the first round of the Lexus Nottingham Open. 'It was a really warm response to it coming out and it was very nice to see. 'It's very rare that I go on it (social media) loads but I do notice things here and there and I felt a lot of love from it.' Boulter believes much of the abuse comes from gamblers who have lost money and feels incidents can raise genuine concerns for her safety. One message stated 'hope you get cancer'. 'I just wonder who the person is that has sent that,' she said in her BBC interview. 'I don't think it's something that I would ever say to my worst enemy. It's just an awful, awful thing to say to anyone. It's horrible. 'It just kind of shows how vulnerable we are. You really don't know if this person is on site. You really don't know if they're nearby or if they know where you live or anything like that.' Boulter's compatriot Jack Draper said it was 'so easy to spread online hate', while her fiance, Australian player Alex de Minaur, also offered support. Speaking after his opening match of the HSBC Championships at Queen's Club, Draper said: 'It's not easy, especially, I think she (Boulter) said, when you're younger and getting all this abuse, saying they will come around your house and do this and that. It's not nice. 'But, at the same time, I take comfort in knowing whoever's doing that is probably sat on their mum's couch, nailing a bag of Quavers with their pants on.' The WTA and International Tennis Federation on Tuesday published their first report into online abuse of players after the launch of the Threat Matrix service last January. The system operates across all major social media platforms and uses AI and human analysts to identify and tackle harassment, abuse and threats directed at players. The report reveals 1.6million posts and comments were analysed, with around 8,000 directed at 458 players identified as abusive, violent or threatening. Five players received 26 per cent of the total abuse, while 40 per cent of the messages were identified as coming from angry gamblers. Fifteen accounts have been identified to law enforcement because of the serious and prolific nature of the messages, while details have been shared with security teams at tennis events to prevent individuals accessing venues. A spokesperson for the WTA and ITF said: 'Protecting players and the wider tennis family from vile online threat and abuse is a key priority for us. 'Given the clear evidence highlighted by Threat Matrix on the link between angry gamblers and prolific online abuse and threat, we are calling for a constructive dialogue with the gambling industry to help tackle this issue. 'Everyone – betting operators, social media platforms, governing bodies, players and law enforcers – has a responsibility to make the online space a safer and more positive one. We hope the gambling industry responds constructively to our call for more action on their part.' "Everyone – betting operators, social media platforms, governing bodies, players and law enforcers – has a responsibility to make the online space a safer and more positive one." Findings from the first season-wide report reveal the scale of abuse players face on social media. — wta (@WTA) June 17, 2025 In response, a Betting and Gaming Council spokesperson told the PA news agency: 'BGC members do not tolerate abuse on social media, which has no place in betting or sport.' Boulter was praised for highlighting the issue by the FIA's United Against Online Abuse campaign, a research-led coalition dedicated to tackling online abuse in sport. A spokesperson said: 'Katie is incredibly brave for speaking out about the appalling online abuse and threats she has faced. 'Betting-related abuse has risen significantly in recent years and now presents a serious and growing threat to the safety, well-being and mental health of athletes.'
Glasgow Times
18-06-2025
- Sport
- Glasgow Times
Katie Boulter opens up over level of online abuse sent to tennis players
Boulter shared her experiences with BBC Sport to highlight the issue of players receiving toxic messages online. The 28-year-old's examples included a message telling her to buy 'candles and a coffin for your entire family' with a reference to her 'grandmother's grave if she's not dead by tomorrow', one stating she should 'go to hell' as she had cost the poster money, and another stating 'hope you get cancer'. Katie Boulter has shared her experiences of being sent abusive messages online (John Walton/PA) Boulter said: 'I just wonder who the person is that has sent that. I don't think it's something that I would ever say to my worst enemy. It's just an awful, awful thing to say to anyone. It's horrible.' Boulter believes much of the abuse comes from gamblers who have lost money and, while she has learned how to better handle it over the years, incidents can raise genuine concerns for her safety. She said: 'I think it just kind of shows how vulnerable we are. You really don't know if this person is on site. You really don't know if they're nearby or if they know where you live or anything like that.' The message Boulter received relating to her family came during her French Open first-round victory over Carole Monnet on May 29. And she is concerned that both the frequency and severity of the abuse is increasing and worries about the potential impact on younger players. She said: 'I think it increases in number and it also increases in the level of things that people say. I don't think there's anything off the cards now.' Boulter's compatriot Jack Draper said it was 'so easy to spread online hate'. Speaking after his opening match of the HSBC Championships at Queen's Club, he said: 'It's not easy, especially, I think she (Boulter) said, when you're younger and you lose a match or something and you come into the professional tour and getting all this abuse, saying they will come around your house and do this and that. It's not nice. 'But, at the same time, I take comfort in knowing whoever's doing that is probably sat on their mum's couch, nailing a bag of Quavers with their pants on. 'There does need to be something that gets done, not just in tennis but in professional sport. It's too easy to spread hate. I'm not a fan of social media at all.' Boulter's fiance, Australian player Alex de Minaur, said: 'It's great for her to step up and shine a light into this and hopefully there is something that can be done about it.' The WTA and International Tennis Federation on Tuesday published their first report into online abuse of players after the launch of the Threat Matrix service last January. The system operates across all major social media platforms and uses AI and human analysts to identify and tackle harassment, abuse and threats directed at players. The report reveals 1.6million posts and comments were analysed, with around 8,000 directed at 458 players identified as abusive, violent or threatening. Five players received 26 per cent of the total abuse, while 40 per cent of the messages were identified as coming from angry gamblers. "Everyone – betting operators, social media platforms, governing bodies, players and law enforcers – has a responsibility to make the online space a safer and more positive one." Findings from the first season-wide report reveal the scale of abuse players face on social media. — wta (@WTA) June 17, 2025 Fifteen accounts have been identified to law enforcement because of the serious and prolific nature of the messages, while details have been shared with security teams at tennis events to prevent individuals accessing venues. A spokesperson for the WTA and ITF said: 'Protecting players and the wider tennis family from vile online threat and abuse is a key priority for us. Today's report covering the first year of the Threat Matrix service shows the scale of the problem and, crucially, the actions being taken to protect our athletes. 'Given the clear evidence highlighted by Threat Matrix on the link between angry gamblers and prolific online abuse and threat, we are calling for a constructive dialogue with the gambling industry to help tackle this issue. 'Everyone – betting operators, social media platforms, governing bodies, players and law enforcers – has a responsibility to make the online space a safer and more positive one. We hope the gambling industry responds constructively to our call for more action on their part.' In response, a Betting and Gaming Council spokesperson told the PA news agency: 'BGC members do not tolerate abuse on social media, which has no place in betting or sport.' Boulter was praised for highlighting the issue by the FIA's United Against Online Abuse campaign, a research-led coalition dedicated to tackling online abuse in sport. A spokesperson said: 'Katie is incredibly brave for speaking out about the appalling online abuse and threats she has faced. 'Betting-related abuse has risen significantly in recent years and now presents a serious and growing threat to the safety, well-being and mental health of athletes.'
Perth Now
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Alex de Minaur's fiancée Katie Boulter details ‘awful' online abuse
Alex de Minaur has supported his British fiancee and fellow tennis star Katie Boulter after she opened up on the social media abuse she receives. Boulter shared her experiences with BBC Sport to highlight the issue of players receiving toxic messages online. The 28-year-old's examples included a message telling her to buy 'candles and a coffin for your entire family' with a reference to her 'grandmother's grave if she's not dead by tomorrow', one stating she should 'go to hell' as she had cost the poster money, and another stating 'hope you get cancer'. Boulter said: 'I just wonder who the person is that has sent that. I don't think it's something that I would ever say to my worst enemy. It's just an awful, awful thing to say to anyone. It's horrible. 'It shows how vulnerable we are. You really don't know if this person is on site. You really don't know if they're nearby or if they know where you live or anything like that.' 'It's great for her to step up and shine a light into this, which is something that happens to every single tennis player out there. Every single athlete, I would say,' said de Minaur. 'Hopefully there is something that can be done about it. It's something that's been going on for a while now. It's something that a lot of people have spoken out against, but it doesn't change. Boulter believes much of the abuse comes from gamblers who have lost money and de Minaur, speaking his his surprise defeat to Jiri Lehecka at Queen's, agreed. 'When you lose, you're feeling not in the best state emotionally, but then you've also got to deal with everything that happens behind the scenes with angry gamblers. British tennis star Katie Boulter has revealed the impact social media abuse can have on players. Credit: AAP 'I haven't gone on my social media yet, but I'm sure I'll have a lot of people not too happy with my result today. 'Every single tennis player on the tour gets thousands, millions of messages every time they lose a match or they cost someone money betting on them. So it's something that you've gotten used to. 'I would love for it to be dealt with or fixed somehow, but I'm not too sure what's the answer.' The WTA and International Tennis Federation on Tuesday published their first report into online abuse of players after the launch of the Threat Matrix service last January. The report reveals 1.6million posts and comments were analysed, with around 8,000 directed at 458 players identified as abusive, violent or threatening. Five players received 26 per cent of the total abuse, while 40 per cent of the messages were identified as coming from angry gamblers. Fifteen accounts have been identified to law enforcement because of the serious and prolific nature of the messages, while details have been shared with security teams at tennis events to prevent individuals accessing venues.
Rhyl Journal
17-06-2025
- Sport
- Rhyl Journal
Katie Boulter ‘felt a lot of love' from response after revealing online abuse
The 28-year-old shared her experiences, which included death threats, with BBC Sport to highlight the issue of players encountering toxic messages on social media. Examples of the abuse included someone telling her to buy 'candles and a coffin for your entire family' with a reference to her 'grandmother's grave if she's not dead by tomorrow' and one stating she should 'go to hell' as she had cost the poster money. Katie Boulter has been inundated with support after she shared details of the online abuse she has received 🫶 — BBC Sport (@BBCSport) June 17, 2025 Since her interview aired, Boulter has been inundated with support. 'I looked on my phone this morning and literally there were hundreds of messages of people reacting to it and every single person was just telling me to disregard it and how much they love me and appreciate me bringing this subject into light,' she said following victory over Lulu Sun in the first round of the Lexus Nottingham Open. 'It was a really warm response to it coming out and it was very nice to see. 'It's very rare that I go on it (social media) loads but I do notice things here and there and I felt a lot of love from it.' Boulter believes much of the abuse comes from gamblers who have lost money and feels incidents can raise genuine concerns for her safety. One message stated 'hope you get cancer'. 'I just wonder who the person is that has sent that,' she said in her BBC interview. 'I don't think it's something that I would ever say to my worst enemy. It's just an awful, awful thing to say to anyone. It's horrible. 'It just kind of shows how vulnerable we are. You really don't know if this person is on site. You really don't know if they're nearby or if they know where you live or anything like that.' Boulter's compatriot Jack Draper said it was 'so easy to spread online hate', while her fiance, Australian player Alex de Minaur, also offered support. Speaking after his opening match of the HSBC Championships at Queen's Club, Draper said: 'It's not easy, especially, I think she (Boulter) said, when you're younger and getting all this abuse, saying they will come around your house and do this and that. It's not nice. 'But, at the same time, I take comfort in knowing whoever's doing that is probably sat on their mum's couch, nailing a bag of Quavers with their pants on.' The WTA and International Tennis Federation on Tuesday published their first report into online abuse of players after the launch of the Threat Matrix service last January. The system operates across all major social media platforms and uses AI and human analysts to identify and tackle harassment, abuse and threats directed at players. The report reveals 1.6million posts and comments were analysed, with around 8,000 directed at 458 players identified as abusive, violent or threatening. Five players received 26 per cent of the total abuse, while 40 per cent of the messages were identified as coming from angry gamblers. Fifteen accounts have been identified to law enforcement because of the serious and prolific nature of the messages, while details have been shared with security teams at tennis events to prevent individuals accessing venues. A spokesperson for the WTA and ITF said: 'Protecting players and the wider tennis family from vile online threat and abuse is a key priority for us. 'Given the clear evidence highlighted by Threat Matrix on the link between angry gamblers and prolific online abuse and threat, we are calling for a constructive dialogue with the gambling industry to help tackle this issue. 'Everyone – betting operators, social media platforms, governing bodies, players and law enforcers – has a responsibility to make the online space a safer and more positive one. We hope the gambling industry responds constructively to our call for more action on their part.' "Everyone – betting operators, social media platforms, governing bodies, players and law enforcers – has a responsibility to make the online space a safer and more positive one." Findings from the first season-wide report reveal the scale of abuse players face on social media. — wta (@WTA) June 17, 2025 In response, a Betting and Gaming Council spokesperson told the PA news agency: 'BGC members do not tolerate abuse on social media, which has no place in betting or sport.' Boulter was praised for highlighting the issue by the FIA's United Against Online Abuse campaign, a research-led coalition dedicated to tackling online abuse in sport. A spokesperson said: 'Katie is incredibly brave for speaking out about the appalling online abuse and threats she has faced. 'Betting-related abuse has risen significantly in recent years and now presents a serious and growing threat to the safety, well-being and mental health of athletes.'
