It is claimed the agreement will provide police with more information from across the world.

They will be able to receive real-time betting alerts from the ESSA on sporting events Australia-wide should any matches exhibit suspicious betting activity.

These alerts will be sent to the Victoria Police Sporting Integrity Intelligence Unit, but the ESSA will not be able to access any law enforcement data.

The ESSA is a not-for-profit organisation whose members include many of the largest licensed on and offline private betting companies with operations around the world, including Australia.

The organisation's role is to provide an alert and monitoring system with the specific aim of detecting and deterring the corruption of betting markets through the manipulation of sporting events.

It has previously only shared data with sporting federations and gambling regulators.

Detective superintendent Peter Brigham said corruption in sport is one of the fastest growing crime types globally and that the agreement will allow Victoria Police to target and investigate these crimes better than ever before.

"We often refer to Melbourne as Australia’s sporting capital, however with that title comes a level of risk in relation to sports betting," he said.

"It is a massive business and in such a lucrative market there is always the potential for corruption.

"A number of ESSA members facilitate betting on Victorian events, however have no presence within Australia.

"This means that police such as our Sporting Integrity Intelligence Unit investigators have limited ability to contact these betting agencies directly when making enquiries into suspicious betting activity on local sporting events.

"Given the real-time aspect of the alerts, it gives our investigators the ability to act quickly and even attend the sporting event in question to immediately commence the investigation.

"The challenge for police is to stay ahead of the game when it comes to this offending and to continually strive to create an environment where it’s difficult for those criminals to exist.

"This agreement with ESSA highlights Victoria Police’s commitment to taking steps to create an environment that will make it difficult for organised crime to infiltrate our shores and our sporting codes."

In 2016, ESSA reported a total of 130 alerts of suspicious activity identified on its members' betting markets and the organisation has reported a further 195 alerts in the first three quarters of 2017.

A full 2017 report is due to be available in the coming weeks.

ESSA secretary general Khalid Ali welcomed the agreement, saying: "Our cooperation arrangement with Victoria Police is an important cog in our global outreach and further highlights the international momentum and partnership working which is increasingly gathering pace between responsible stakeholders.

"This agreement sends a clear message of both parties’ desire to address an issue that blights the enjoyment of fans of both sport and betting."

The Victoria Police Sporting Integrity Intelligence Unit was created in 2013 to proactively focus on monitoring integrity issues across all sporting codes.

The unit works with all racing and sporting bodies in an effort to enhance its knowledge and awareness of identified sports integrity issues.

In April, the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) cleared three matches from the 2017 Australian Open of any corrupt activity following an investigation.

A total of 30 alerts were received by the TIU from the 24,300 professional matches played in the first quarter of 2017, through Memorandums of Understanding with betting regulators and gambling organisations.

On the first day of the 2016 Australian Open, the BBC and BuzzFeed released secret files stating that 16 players who have been ranked in the world's top 50 had been flagged up as potentially being involved in match-fixing activities.

It was claimed the TIU had not properly investigated these allegations.

The TIU has since stepped up its anti-corruption measures and launched a training module at the beginning of March.

All professional players must now complete the Tennis Integrity Protection Programme every two years, designed to educate them against match-fixing, grooming, betting on matches and illegal approaches.

In addition to TIU programmes, players also receive integrity training from governing bodies and national associations.