- Betway partners with PSG.LGD
- The betting agency is a long-term sponsor of esports contests
- Developer cautions against signing up with betting agencies
Betway has added another esports team, PSG.LGD, to its long list of competitive video gaming partnerships and initiatives.
Betway Adds PSG.LGD as Latest Esports Partner
Sports betting agency Betway has teamed up with competitive video gaming outfit PSG.LGD to produce extensive content and consolidate the organization’s digital footprint, the Esports Observer has reported.
PSG.LGD is a team created by merging soccer club Paris Saint-Germain’s esports team and Chinese Dota 2 squad LGD. The emerging brand, PSG.LGD, managed to secure second spot in The International 2018, Dota 2’s grandest esports event, winning $4,085,148 in the process.
Meanwhile, Betway has been active in securing multiple partnerships from various gaming organizations, including the German BIG, another Chinese power house Invictus Gaming, Swedish Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) squad Ninjas in Pyjamas (NIP), and MIBR.
NIP is the longest-standing organization to has supported the betting agency and vice versa. As of time of the writing, no additional financial details have been confirmed. What is known is that Betway’s logo will be displayed on PSG.LGD players’ jerseys and jackets
Betway is a known name in esports as well. The agency offers extensive bonuses and markets for competitive video gaming that encompass all major titles. In addition, the company has supported a number of important gaming events, including:
- Intel Extreme Masters
- BLAST Pro Series
- ESL Pro League
More Betting-Esports Partnerships Arrive on the Market Despite Warnings
The partnership opportunity was welcomed by Betway CEO Anthony Jones who confirmed the company’s determination to continue and develop esports:
“Having already had plenty of success with sponsorship in esports already, we are very excited to have signed a new partnership with PSG.LGD.”
Meanwhile, Dota 2 creator Valve has warned teams not to accept gambling partnerships and sever whatever ties they had with existing operators, but this appeal has fallen on deaf ears for the most part.
Valve has explained in the past that allowing gambling operators to sponsor amateur and non-professional events in particular creates room for cheating, similar to collegiate sports. Betway or any other gambling operator has not commented on these warnings.
Trying to sever whatever ties exist abruptly would only disrupt the esports ecosystem. An alternative that would suit Valve would be for better control over competitions.
Unikrn, a U.S.-based operator which claims it can tell when a player is cheating drawing from the available data, recently released a “skill-based betting” option, which allows players to wager on themselves.
Esports events are also overseen by the Esports Integrity Coalition (ESIC) which could make use of Unikrn’s technology to catch cheaters and award penalties. The ESIC has already been forced to issue bans to Clash Royale player Jimit Bhattand Nikhil Kumawat, among others.