There was a significant increase in suspicious betting alerts in DOTA2 and Warcraft 3 in the early part of 2018, which indicates that the industry may not be prepared for the rapid increase in betting activity around the gaming phenomena.
JONATHAN AIWAZIAN has been US regional director at BetConstruct for a year, having joined from FNY Capital Management, where he was a trader. BetConstruct develop and provide online and landbased gaming solutions with development, sales and service centres all around the globe.
What should it be doing better or differently to get the appropriate safeguards in place to protect the integrity of esports? How should operators be working alongside publishers and other stakeholders to ensure a joined-up approach?
With the rise of any new market, there will inevitably be people and entities who try to take advantage of it before it becomes fully regulated and has protections in place. This has proven to be no different in the esports world, where several incidents have been discovered (and most likely more undiscovered) that involved match-fixing.
In some cases, players bet against themselves and throw the match to earn money from their loss, and in other cases, players have been bribed by gambling syndicates. Both situations hurt the industry by affecting the perception of the audience with regard to the outcome of the matches.
The industry depends on the fanbase to be engaged in the matches to generate advertising revenue and ticket sales, so if the audience loses interest, the industry itself will be in danger.
As with other sports, the most prestigious and lucrative contests are less susceptible to match-fixing because the prizes and glory are more enticing to players than the risk of being banned for a small payday. Lower level matches are ripe for integrity issues because there is not a lot riding on the outcome.
To counteract this fraudulent activity, operators should add betting limits, especially on lower level matches, to ensure that bad actors cannot easily place a large bet on one side or the other. Additionally, the penalties for players who participate in this kind of illicit activity should be more severe.
South Korea has taken a very tough stance on this issue, with players who have been caught in the act even being given jail time. By making an example out of those caught cheating, this kind of activity will be less likely to occur.
The main component that limits the ability of esports to regulate itself and maintain its integrity is a lack of resources. Even though the industry is rapidly growing in popularity, its funding pales in comparison to other professional leagues.
Even the NBA, who is a proponent of sports betting on professional sports, is requesting additional funds to maintain integrity in the form of a 1% integrity fee on all bets placed in the US on its games. If the NBA, which makes billions in revenue needs additional resources to make sure millionaire athletes are not susceptible to bribery, how can the burgeoning esports industry be expected to self-regulate?
Unfortunately, there is no way to stop all illegal betting activity but by making penalties harsher for players, adding betting limits to lower level matches or banning betting on them altogether, and setting aside a portion of each contest’s prize money for integrity investigations, the esports industry can begin to be more confident that it has a handle on match-fixing.
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