Is esports industry regulated?

All major kind of sports are regulated to some extent, preventing illegal and questionable activities and maintaining some structure and fairness. But what about esports? The biggest tournaments can be contested by unemployed teenagers who, up until a few days ago, were playing games in their bedrooms. 

Does the industry do anything to prevent them from abusing their positions? Is it able to protect them?

Is esports industry regulated?

Esports are not like any other sport and this has made regulation very difficult. Firstly it is new and regulatory bodies and the laws by which they govern are not created overnight. 

Secondly there is no single esports. The term is used to describe a huge selection of games. These games are created by different developers and launched by different publishers and very rarely do these worlds collide.

Finally they occur on a global scale, making it very difficult to keep everything controlled.

However that does not mean they are above the law. Where individual games and their rules are concerned, the publishers and event organizers assume control and deal with all complaints and mediation. If they fail to do so, they may fall foul of national agencies dealing with entertainment, marketing, and employment.

Where gambling is concerned, they are overseen by regulators in distinct regions, such as the UK Gambling Commission in the UK. While there is no single regulatory body dealing with all esports issues, this industry is definitely regulated and contrary to what you might have read, it is not every man and every game for themselves.

Is match fixing a concern?

Match fixing is a common issue with all sports, not just esports. These days, you can bet on everything, from an elite level tennis match to a seventh tier football match. The match fixers will often target the players on the lowest wagers, because they may only be earning a couple of hundred dollars a week and can, therefore, easily be bought.

With esports there are concerns that some players may be tempted to accept offers like this or even to throw games themselves. And these fears are not unfounded, as such issues have occurred in the past.

In the summer of 2019 it was alleged that several CS:GO players had bet against themselves and then intentionally lost matches. It has also happened with other esports and is a constant threat that will likely never go away.

While the occasional desperate player may be tempted to cheat the system, the system is actually perfectly placed to stop them. The more obscure the market is, the more likely it is to be targeted, but the more obvious it will be when it is targeted.

All betting sites, Cyber.BET included, utilize advanced algorithms to detect abnormal patterns. If there is an obscure game between two little-known players that suddenly receives a huge number of bets from brand new accounts, the system will flag it, the authorities will be alerted and the issue will be investigated.

These algorithms make it very difficult for match fixers to get away with cheating the system. What’s more, if they are caught, not only will they face criminal prosecution but they will likely be banned from their chosen sport for life. Simply put, it is a risk that’s not worth taking and one that very few players actually take as a result.