The Victoria Police in Australia have released a report on the arrest of five men involved in match-fixing in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO). The alleged match-fixing occurred at ESEA’s Mountain Dew League in 2019. The charges follow from the investigation that we reported on a year ago involving six men arrested. Four 20-year-olds and one 27-year-old have been charged with multiple criminal offenses and will finally appear in court in September of this year.
Throwing matches for monetary gain
The Australian police started the investigation in 2019 upon receiving notice from a betting agency regarding activity connected to CSGO. Since the investigation began, it is suspected that the players were “arranging to throw matches and subsequently placing bets on those matches.” Following nearly a year of investigation and raids in the states of West Australia, as well as Victoria, the culprits have finally been charged.
Naturally, it is deducible that the five men were part of the same team and would throw matches after betting against themselves via a betting service, something that likely continues to occur on the esports scene.
According to Assistant Commissioner Neil Paterson, as reported by ABC News, the police believe that as much as $30,000 had been won by betting on the fixed matches in CSGO.
All five men have been charged with various counts of “use of corrupt conduct information for betting purposes.” One 20-year-old from Mill Park was additionally charged with engaging “in conduct that corrupts or would corrupt a betting outcome of an event or event contingency,” in addition to possessing cannabis.
The culprits are facing up to 10 years of jail time for the pressed charges.
What do you think of this match-fixing scandal in Australia? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. Follow Daily Esports for all your latest news in CSGO as well as other major esports out there.
Published: May 3, 2020 03:07 pm