Esports Integrity Commission, maintaining esports betting trust in 2021
Published: Feb 1, 2021 - Last Updated: Jul 7, 2023
In the past week, the not-for-profit association dedicated to fighting match manipulation, betting fraud and other threats to integrity in esports, the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC), has added several new members to their organisation, as well as partnering with their first data provider. This is a strong start to 2021, they need to improve the trust in esports moving into the new year, considering the issues with match manipulation in Australia and the recent spectator bug scandal.
If the general public cannot trust the integrity of the esports tournament organisers, how could any responsible esports bettor think to place any sort of wager on an event. Organisations like ESIC promote fair play across all participating members. From the largest official tournaments to the smallest regional events, if they are a member of ESIC, there is a lot more trust.
Sports Module & 247 Leagues
Sports Data provider SportsModule, and their subsidiary tournament organiser, 247 Leagues, have obtained ESIC membership. 247 Leagues is a relatively young tournament organiser having only been founded in 2020. Their unique selling point is the ability to host one off daily tournaments rather than longer running series. With the rapid-fire nature of these sorts of tournaments, it could open itself up to manipulation and by partnering with ESIC, they can rest assured that third party supervisors will keep them on the level.
Robert Verschoyle, Founder at SportsModule, wrote:
“We are delighted to start a partnership with ESIC, which fits perfectly with our ambition to be a leading international eSports organiser with a trustworthy and transparent brand. 247 Leagues aims to cater perfectly to the high integrity requirements of all our customers. We welcome a more regulated esports market and see our membership with ESIC as vital in helping to support this process.”
Relog Media
Esports media company, Relog, have obtained ESIC membership. Relog Media is a Serbian esports organization established in 2019. As well as providing gaming lifestyle experience for esports fans, they have also branched out into organising a number of large competitions and tournaments.
Milutin Pecic, CEO of Relog Media, wrote:
“Here at Relog Media, we have been working towards raising our integrity standard to be on par with leaders such as ESL & Dreamhack. Thanks to our cooperation with ESIC, we have been able to accomplish that feat. As we continue to progress with our events and commitments with teams across the year, we are now ensuring our events share the highest quality of integrity for the teams and our viewers across the year.”
ESIC’s data partner
Finally, ESIC have partnered with the global esports data provider, Esports Charts. Esports Charts will grant ESIC with access to its data for ESIC’s usage. Esports Charts will also collaborate with ESIC to publish periodic reports gauging particular data metrics related to integrity and industry risk. If tournament organisers and esports betting sites have access to this sort of data, it only seems right that the integrity commission for the esport should have access to it as well. Access to this sort of data is important for up to the second analysis and information about industry trends.
Ivan Danishevskyi, Founder of Esports Charts, said:
“The integrity of data, protection of the market from fraud, systematization of information, favourable market growth, fair play – are the main tasks in the Esports Charts’ mission. And we are glad that ESIC is our teammate in these matters, who deeply shares all of them. By creating standards and best practices, together we kickstart esports to unprecedented heights!”
ESIC in 2021
Already this year, ESIC have banned 35 esports players for betting offences. In September of last year ESIC sanctioned 37 CS:GO coaches for the use of the spectator bug. Esports is still a relatively young enterprise and as such it is open to manipulation and cheating both from outside the events and from inside. Organisations like ESIC are more important than ever. Esports bettors need the confidence to place bets on events. As the ESIC grows in membership, so will the confidence in the events.
