14 DAY TRIAL // Six Counter-Strike: Global Offensive were arrested in Australia, following an investigation that revealed betting violations.
Ever since gaming managed to garner the status of a sport, people have been trying to figure out a way to make more money out of it. And if you involve the ability to bet on matches, things become a lot muddier.
What’s interesting is that the problem of bet fixing as been around for a long time, from times immemorial. The fact that it can now apply to modern-day gaming seems like a fascinating aspect that would have been impossible to anticipate back a couple of decades ago.
More money than we can imagine
The Internation Doto 2 Championships just ended in Shanghai, China, had prizes worth over $34 million, and first place got $15,6 million. It’s easy to see why some people might be tempted to do bad things. A lot of money can be earned from esports tournaments.
In Australia, six Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players were arrested during an investigation, according to report on Kotaku, but released shortly afterward. Of course, they talked among themselves to throws matches and places bets on those matches. A rookie mistake in any sport, let alone one that’s so closely monitored.
The red flag was raised by a betting company that noticed the odd behavior, and it looks that multiple betting companies are involved.
“Esports is really an emerging sporting industry and with that will come the demand for betting availability on the outcomes of tournaments and matches. These warrants also highlight that police will take any reports of suspicious or criminal activity within esports seriously, and we encourage anyone with information to come forward,” explained Assistant Commissioner Neil Paterson.
To make matters worse, the punishment for this type of crimes carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. It doesn't matter if they were playing games; illegal betting makes everyone equal.