The Esports Integrity Commission has decided to issue bans against 35 players in Australia due to offences related to betting. The bans are the result of an investigation by the ESIC into betting in CS:GO.
The ESIC launched the investigation to identify betting behaviour that is in violation to the Anti-Corruption code that was put in place by the ESIC themselves. They are also still investigating possible match-fixing. “In particular, betting against one’s own team in a match one is playing in gives rise to a strong suspicion of match-fixing and particular focus is being given in conjunction with law enforcement to those cases, so this release and the sanctions listed do not preclude further action with respect to the incidents or players listed.”
ESIC issues sanctions against 35 players for betting related offences & extends bans for 2 players previously sanctioned in October 2020.
ESIC will continue to investigate further offences in Australia, NA and Europe in cooperation with law enforcement.
(1/2) pic.twitter.com/KgVudv0d9t— ESIC (@ESIC_Official) January 22, 2021
In a summary of the investigation the ESIC found that 35 players were in violation of the Anti-Corruption code. The length of the bans were based on how bad their violations were. Earlier in October the ESIC already banned seven players for match-fixing in betting, two of those now received additional sanctions. Bans range from 12 months or a year to up to 60 months or five years.
The ESIC also sent out a reminder to professional players regarding betting activity. “It is crucially important that professional players (at the very least) abstain from placing bets on the game from which they earn an income in order to preserve the integrity of the esports landscape internationally and mitigate the potential for bad actors to take advantage of our sport.”
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