HomeNewsCounter-Strike: Global Offensive
Five Australians charged over Counter-Strike: Global Offensive match fixingLocal offenses
Local offenses
Five people were charged this Sunday with fixingCounter-Strike: Global Offensivematches, according to Victoria Police. If found guilty, they could face up to a decade in prison.
“It’s alleged that players were arranging to throw matches and subsequently placing bets on those matches”, the Victoria Police Media Unitexplained. Each of the suspects was charged with “use of corrupt conduct information for betting purposes”. One was also charged for the related “conduct that corrupts or would corrupt a betting outcome of an event or event contingency”. A conviction for either would carry a penalty of up to 10 years in prison, according to theAustralasian Legal Information Institute. These thrown matches generated up to $30,000 (roughly £15,500) in “winnings”.
Police began their investigation after receiving a tip from a betting agency in March last year. Arrests were made in August, as Kotaku Australiareportedat that time.
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Despite their horrible name, esports remain huge, and are booming more than ever as more traditional sport and spectator events have shut down due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Formula 1 racing switched to a series ofvirtual races in F1 2019in March and April. Some English Premier League (that’s major league footed ball to you, ameri-friends) players took part in aa Fifa 20 tournament last month, with the final match broadcast on Sky Sports. Ice hockey and basketballgot a similar treatment, and even the Grand Nationalwas a digitally simulated eventthis year, saving the lives of many bladeless mounts.
All this is well and good, but opportunists will naturally seek to exploit lawmakers' typically lethargic, clueless response to technological advancements. With bigger audiences than ever spread over endless legal jurisdictions, we can probably expect more of this in future.
The case also brings us back to concerns for the wellbeing of mostly young men who are heavily into games. As Australia’s ABC outletquotedAssistant Police Commisioner: “The sheer volume of young men involved in gambling, both in high school and in universities, is at epidemic proportions. What I’m not seeing is anyone doing anything particularly about that.”
The men involved are expected to appear in court on September 15th.
