Victoria Police Partner With Esports Integrity Commission

Credit: ESIC

Victoria Police and the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) have signed an agreement to work together to combat suspicious betting activity and betting-related match-fixing in esports. The law enforcement agency for the southeastern Australia state initially signed a “letter of agreement” in February, according to a release.

Financial terms and duration of the deal were not disclosed.

The Victoria Police division, the Sporting Integrity Intelligence Unit (SIIU), will be given access to real-time betting alerts from ESIC on esports events when matches “exhibit suspicious betting activity,” which will in turn allow investigators within the unit to act quickly in beginning enquiries “as soon as possible where required.”

The Victoria Police said in its announcement that it takes esports match-fixing as seriously as it does in any other organized or professional sport. The agency is using four statues (criminal offenses defined under the penal code) that were amendments to the Victorian Crimes Act in 2013; those statutes don’t specifically name a sporting event type, but focus on the “corruption of a betting outcome.”

In a release, Assistant Commissioner and Intelligence and Covert Support Command Chris Gilbert noted that the law enforcement agency has also developed relationships with “esports stakeholders and wagering operators” in its ongoing effort to combat esports match-fixing.

ESIC works closely with tournament organizers and stakeholders in esports to combat illegal activities related to gambling and betting, and also oversees issues of integrity amongst players and teams. Its partners include ESL FACEIT Group (ESL, DreamHack), BLAST, Estars Studios, Nodwin Gaming, Intel, Rivalry, Unikrn, Betway, and GG.Bet, among others.