Stakeholders in Esports Fighting Against Cheating

Stakeholders in the Esports industry have revealed that they are actively battling against more than just other competitors within the industry. Instead, their major concern is more to do with cheating, and they have some pretty good reasons to be nervous about this.

The explosion in popularity of esports around the world has led to greater prize pots on offer, and when more money is involved it only takes a relatively short period of time before people begin to look at ways to take advantage. Sadly, esports has now reached that point.

The CS:GO Scandal

This push towards fighting against cheating has gained momentum after the news broke in September regarding CS:GO. The banning of a total of 37 coaches for actively exploiting a bug to win tournaments shook not only that game, but all of esports. The fact that the coaches were spying on their rivals to gain insight into the strategy other teams were using is a prime example of the lengths people will go to just to get that advantage.

But it’s important to point out that this wasn’t something that had only just happened. Instead, it affected competitions going back as far as 2016, while it also affected tournaments at various levels.

Cheating is Continual

It’s important to point out that CS:GO is not the only game that will have been affected by cheating. Look at Fortnite as another example. Before the 2019 Fortnite World Cup, over 1200 players had their accounts suspended for cheating in various ways. That is astonishing, and you have to remember that those players are the ones they knew about. Who knows how many others are cheating in ways that have so far not been detected?

But it’s not just the authorities that are hoisting the red flag for cheating. Other players, who really do understand what is possible in a game, are also alerting others to possible cheating occurring. This form of self-regulation is important, and it has to continue if esports is to always be taking as seriously as a competition. In a sense, trying to spy on others or illegally manipulating the game is effectively the same as doping in sport.

But what does this then mean for the viewer or spectator? Well, it’s understandable if you stress about betting on the outcome of various tournaments when you sit there and wonder if the people playing are either actively cheating or, as is more often the case, being cheated out of winning. What you need to do, if you want to place bets on tournaments, is to focus on official tournaments for key games knowing they are more regulated. Also, only ever bet using known strategies and websites such as SportsBetting.ag or BetOnline to have your own sense of security.

Cheating in esports is never going to go away. Instead, as people become more desperate to gain an edge, they are more likely to turn to illegal means to get ahead. However, stakeholders should not be singled out as being the only ones fighting against cheating. Anybody with any interest in esports needs to do their bit to combat it to allow esports tournaments to grow in a safely and honestly.