ESIC Continues Expansion, Adds Betting Operator Rivalry.gg To Member List

Posted on March 21, 2018 - Last Updated on April 26, 2019
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The Esports Integrity Coalition (ESIC) added another party to its growing list of members. This time, Rivalry.gg, an esports-focused betting operator, joined the association.

Tackling unregulated and underage betting

By completing ESIC’s Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the Isle of Man-based wagering service company joins a number of supporters.

The recently launched Rivalry.gg currently offers pre-match betting and original content. The company seeks to offer a product that brings more transparency and safety to the industry. By joining ESIC, Rivalry.gg proves it’s serious in this endeavor.

“At Rivalry, our foremost effort is to provide esports enthusiasts with a legal, and safe way to bet on competitive play in the games they eat, breathe, and sleep; our participation in ESIC is a cornerstone piece of this effort,” said Rivalry co-founder Steven Salz.

“We have been members of this community for some time now and were frustrated with the unregulated and underage betting market that was growing rapidly seemingly without intervention. Some of that we believe was due to lack of alternatives that met the needs of gamers, and also education on why regulation matters in online gambling. Our goal is to tackle both of those problems head on at Rivalry,” Salz added.

New features and safeguards

Using know-how from the traditional sportsbook world, Rivalry looks to enrich the betting repertoire for its customers, adding features like live betting, among others.

“We spent the better part of 2017 curating and testing various bespoke feature sets that we believe the community will love and can’t wait to share them with everyone,” Salz said.

ESIC Integrity Commissioner Ian Smith also commented on the news.

“ESIC is pleased to welcome another specialist esports betting operator into membership to extend our suspicious bet alert network and help us detect possible match-fixing as it happens,” he said. “Having a legitimate, licensed operator that supports esports integrity and our vital education programme helps lessen the influence of dodgy operators and betting fraudsters.”

ESIC being active in member acquisition

The non-profit establishment is serious about the expansion of transparency and fairness in the industry. ESIC has consistently added new members from around the globe.

Shortly before adding Rivalry, the organization welcomed GEEM, UMG, and LVP. The member list already includes a wide variety of different organizations, including competition organizers, betting providers, hardware and software producers, and others.

Moreover, ESIC has been active in introducing new ways to regulate the community. By implementing new standards for conduct, the organization aims to punish violators accordingly.

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Dejan Zalik

Dejan has been involved in gaming for over 10 years. Moving from classics like Diablo 2, Lineage 2, and Warcraft 3, he found his passion in Dota 2, which he’s been playing ever since. He also likes to keep up to date by reading and writing about whatever is happening in the industry.

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