ESIC Adds 247 Leagues and SportsModule as Members

SportsModule and 247 Leagues have become the latest members of ESIC in a bid to clean esports from cheating and corruption.

ESIC Adds New Members in Bid to Keep Esports Clean

ESIC’s lineup of trusted and committed members continues to increase with the latest addition of SportsModule, and the company’s subsidiary, 247 Leagues, which is an esports tournament organizer.

By joining the Esports Integrity Coalition, the organizations are committing to ESIC’s Integrity Program which is an industry effort to clamp down on match-fixing and corruption in esports, an issue that has had a negative impact on the credibility of certain esports contests already.

247 Leagues will adopt ESIC’s codes and standards throughout all tournament events and make sure that fair play is upheld. The organization is one of the newest tournament hosts out there and it has launched with the aim of tackling esports fraud while hosting fair competitive events.

ESIC Commissioner Ian Smith did not mince his words, sharing his excitement to be adding 247 Leagues. Smith is a long-time proponent of responsible gambling and a dedicated individual when it comes to industry effort in tackling match-fixing and other issues threatening the integrity of the activity.

Speaking further on the latest memberships, Smith had this to add: “247 Leagues’ commitment to ESIC is reflective of their pledge to maintain integrity in their esports operations. We believe it is important to collaborate with tournament operators such as 247 Leagues in order to facilitate the continual harmonization of competitive integrity efforts in esports.”

Fairness Takes the Effort of the Entire Community

He has a point. Bringing more tournament organizers on board is essential to seeing a future for esports where criminals are targeted so that the fairness of competitions may stay intact. Meanwhile, SportsModule founder Robert Verschoyle has confirmed that its intentions for 247 Leagues are to be a leading tournament host of integrity and good repute with the community.

“We welcome a more regulated esports market,” added Verschoyle. For its part, ESIC has been busy taking immediate action against cheaters and organizations that try to tarnish the reputation of esports and have committed a crime in the process.

The organization has been persistent in detecting and enforcing bans. Most recently, it suspended 35 Australian players who were found guilty of match-fixing. Taking steps a little further, ESIC reported the culprits to relevant authorities. Some of the cheaters banned had actually participated in 247 Leagues events.

Australia has a reputation for enforcing strict penalties against cheaters, and in 2019, six CS: GO players were reportedly facing up to ten years in prison over match-fixing scandals. ESIC is constantly checking and purging suspected cheaters from competitive play.

In September 2020, ESIC banned 34 cheaters, once again in CS: GO, which has proven one of the more problematic competitive titles out there. A similar high-profile case was reported early in January when Newbee’s former Dota 2 roster received lifetime bans from all major competitive events. As the integrity of esports is coming under assault, ESIC is arriving in just the right time to help build a more sustainable and transparent future for competitive video gaming.