Sports betting is becoming popular in eSports. However, 7 professional players from Australia bet on their own matches in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. This came to light, authorities intervened and arrested the professionals, and now the players have been banned from professional tournaments for a year. They claim, however, that there was no malicious intent behind it – only ignorance of the rules.
This is the backstory: Already in August 2019 we reported on MeinMMO that some CS:GO players in Australia were arrested for allegedly violating the law on match manipulation.
The law applies to eSports just as it does to other sports. As Kotaku Australia reports, Australians are keen on sports betting, so the law is monitored particularly strictly. The law aims to prevent games from being manipulated by athletes betting money on a match and then perhaps not performing as well as they could in order to gain advantages. Such behavior would compromise the sport.
7 players banned from professional CS:GO for a year
This is what the players did: As an ethics commission for CS:GO states, it concerns 7 individuals who belong to some of the best teams in Australia.
The ethics commission says they bet on games in the MDL (Mountain Dew League), including matches in which they participated themselves.
The behavior violates the “Anti-Corruption Code.”
The 7 players are excluded from all professional competitions for 12 months. This applies not only to the national league but also internationally.
This is how the community discusses it: The ban casts a shadow over the Australian CS:GO scene, as can be seen on social media.
Because stories like these, where games are manipulated, are poison for potential sponsors. One player complains: Honest CS:GO players would do everything to establish eSports and such individuals would jeopardize every success.
“Thought it was okay to bet on their own victory”
This is what the players themselves say: The team of some of the players has now responded to the allegations. They say:
- Although people had bet on games.
- The players only bet on their own games and then gave 100% to win – no game was manipulated.
- The players did not inform themselves about the correct rules. They were aware that it was wrong to intentionally lose games, but they thought it was still okay to bet on their own victory.
- The little money they won, however, does not justify the ban they received.
Currently in CS:GO, there are several waves of issues. 37 coaches have been caught cheating, who exploited an exploit in the game for years to give their teams advantages. The ethics commission also intervened and set clear red lines:
In CS:GO, 37 coaches are banned for cheating – it’s already being called “The Purge”
