The monitoring and information sharing will be done in conjunction with three different partners, the International Olympic Committee's Olympic Movement Unit on the Prevention of the Manipulation of Competitions (OM Unit PMC), the Council of Europe's Copenhagen Group and Sportradar.

The AIU are monitoring betting markets, identifying betting patterns and any betting anomalies, in order to prevent or identify any market manipulation and, if necessary, carry out disciplinary proceedings under the Integrity Code of Conduct.

It follows on from a similar operation during the last IAAF World Athletics Championships in London two years ago with the AIU continuing to commit time and resources to this area after noting the continuing rise in popularity of sports betting in Asia and Africa, as well as the Supreme Court of the United States lifting the federal ban on sports betting in May 2018.

"It is the AIU's responsibility to proactively combat all forms of corruption and ethical misconduct in athletics, and that includes illegitimate betting practices and competition manipulation related to such activities," AIU chairman David Howman said. 

"The risk in athletics is currently low relative to some other sports, but with growth in key betting markets our activities are designed to get ahead of the curve and discourage unethical behaviour in our sport before it takes place."

The AIU has also created awareness on the matter and the ways of preventing manipulation of competition by trying to educate athletes and their support personnel in the lead up to the Championships in Qatar's capital. 

The AIU are also overseeing the drugs testing programme at the Championships. 

A new initiative is to transfer samples collected from the athletes of the host nation to a laboratory abroad in order to avoid any potential conflict of interest and associated risks. 

The policy has come into force here for the first and will continue during future editions of IAAF World Athletics Championships.

The 2013 IAAF World Championships are widely believed to be among the events staged in Russia where samples were manipulated by the laboratory in Moscow.

"The IAAF World Athletics Championships is one of the greatest sports events in the world and it is the AIU's responsibility to ensure fair play," Howman said. 

"Transferring samples of athletes from the host nation to another World Anti-Doping Agency-accredited laboratory is a proactive measure to avoid any perception of conflict. 

"Public confidence in the integrity of a sporting event is paramount and we do not want to leave any stone unturned to ensure this is achieved for the biggest athletics event."