Canada
In the United States, a New Championship Esports Qualifying Series Will Debut
The crypto, esports, and gambling industry has been growing at an equal pace over the past few years. Naturally, states try to invest as much as possible in these sectors. Especially in the Esports sector, almost all countries compete with each other.
The most important of these countries is undoubtedly the United States of America. The USA is preparing for a significant Esports initiative in the year 2022. In the statement made by the USEF, the United States Esports Federation, they stated that they have a plan to cover the whole country. They also announced at the USEF Esports industry conference that they are starting to develop national championship tournaments that could be the first of their kind.
In addition, USEF will run an incentive campaign to attract Esports players and fans from all over the country. Then, the USEF announced that it would launch national qualifiers to form the US National Esports team. It seems that the rise of Esports will continue in 2022.
We decided to evaluate the relationship between USEF and Esports in today’s article. We will also briefly touch on the reflections of the rise of Esports on the crypto and gambling industry. If you’re ready, let’s start.
Esports is Growing Rapidly Globally
As we mentioned at the beginning of our article, the esports, crypto and gambling industry continues to grow at an equal pace. Because these three sectors continue to create a different ecosystem by influencing each other. For example, different platforms that allow you to bet on esports using crypto, such as Thunderpick have started to emerge. No matter where you live, you can place bets on online Esports tournaments around the world. This also helps the Esports ecosystem flourish. Sponsorships, partnerships and many other agreements are making the sectors come alive.
Naturally, governments want to get their share from a sector where cash flow is very high. We can see the first example of this with the United States. They want to identify the best players by starting a national Esports qualifying process.
However, they also want to create a forensic and standard elimination system for National team selection. It is also within the scope of organizing many tournaments to discover the best of USA’s digital world. Especially the fact that these tournaments are on a national scale is of great interest to municipalities and venues in that region. Because we think that the economic activity in the regions belonging to the cities where major Esports tournaments are held will be positively affected.
There are also Esports related initiatives in some schools at the moment. Perhaps in the future there will even be lessons like how and why to start Esports in all schools. Regardless, the future of Esports seems to cover the entire system.
USEF’s Goals
USEF’s newly elected president, David Geddes, made a series of statements about the process at the Esports travel summit. Florida has called to attend the conference with the leading names of the industry to be held in Daytona Beach. While the conference was organized by the Esports Travel Summit, the company’s vice president, Jason Gewirtz, made the following statement:
“The Esports Travel Summit was designed to bring together stakeholders in the esports industry to help support the growth of in-person esports events,”
When he came to the partnership with the USEF, he continued his words as follows;
“the perfect example of the kinds of connections we are looking to foster with our event, since their approach to uniting stakeholders and growing a national team is the best of what we see in the future of esports events. We’re excited to offer attendees in Daytona the chance to meet them and hear more about their vision for the future.”
Comments by General Manager David Geddes
Given the partnership, Mr. Geddes from USEF is very optimistic about the new plans. He started his speech by referring to covid and then the Esports industry and continued his words as follows;
“We are very excited by the post-covid wave of interest to host in-person competitions, the esports industry is unifying just like other NGBs, such as USA Soccer or USA Climbing.”
He also added the following to his speech on establishing a national team for Esports;
“He went on to add, “I am so delighted when I think about how our nation’s esports competitors will face off to qualify for the national team – celebrity esports athletes will be made during our championship series of events.”
USEF has now stepped up the work for the Esports team that will form the entire USA national team. They are considering sending a team to the IESF Panama cup in Buenos Aires. Likewise, it appears that they have long-term plans to participate in the 2022 IESF World championship in Indonesia.
Final Words
We greatly appreciate initiatives such as the USEF and IESF that will accelerate the development of Esports. In addition, the growth of Esports enables the development of sectors such as crypto and gambling. The Esports industry is expected to grow up to US$1.62 billion in the coming years. Currently, according to current figures, this value was equivalent to US$ 1.084 billion by 2021.
In fact, let’s take a look at the biggest Esports tournaments of 2022. Then you can understand exactly what we mean.
It seems that in the future, investments in Esports teams and players will increase considerably. We may start seeing Esports internationally, even at the Olympic games. This sounds extremely exciting.
If you want to access up-to-date information about the Esports world, don’t forget to follow us. Goodbye!
Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO)
Soft2Bet strengthens integrity monitoring with IBIA membership in Ontario
Soft2Bet, a leading casino and sportsbook platform provider, has joined the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) and activated its membership in Ontario, Canada, following its licensing in the Canadian province.
Soft2bet obtained its Certificate of Registration from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) at the end of March, where the company’s Ontario-focused brand Tooniebet.com will now feed into IBIA’s world-leading sports betting integrity monitoring platform before worldwide implementation in the coming months.
IBIA includes over 50 of the world’s leading sports betting and gaming companies, who operate over 125 sports betting brands. Soft2Bet’s decision to join the association further strengthens its own internal betting integrity protocols and IBIA’s position as the world’s leading sports betting integrity monitoring body.
David Yatom Hay, General Counsel at Soft2Bet, commented: “Soft2Bet is delighted to be joining the IBIA as we strengthen our own betting integrity monitoring processes and play our part in furthering the IBIA’s long-standing work on this key issue. Ontario is a world class iGaming jurisdiction; it will be the first market where we will implement our IBIA membership and we look forward to deploying the monitoring infrastructure worldwide in all the other markets in which we operate.”
Khalid Ali, CEO of IBIA, said: “Soft2Bet is a very welcome addition to IBIA, further strengthening our position in the Ontario market. The operator’s decision to join IBIA demonstrates its desire to utilise the best integrity protection available for its sportsbook product. The association is delighted to be able to integrate Tooniebet within our integrity monitoring system and looks forward to working closely with Soft2Bet to maintain the high integrity of its sportsbook.”
IBIA is a not-for-profit body that has no competing conflicts with the delivery of commercial services to other sectors and is run by operators and for operators to protect regulated sports betting markets from match-fixing. IBIA’s global monitoring network is a highly effective anti-corruption tool, detecting and reporting suspicious activity in regulated betting markets.
Through the IBIA monitoring network it is possible to track transactional activities linked to individual customer accounts. IBIA members generate more than $300bn in annual betting turnover (handle), accounting for approximately 50% of the global commercial regulated land-based and online sports betting sector, and in excess of 50% for online alone.
IBIA recently released a report on the Availability of Sports Betting Products which highlighted Ontario as a leading regulated gambling jurisdiction, with an expected onshore channelisation for sports betting of 92% in 2024 forecast to rise to 97% in2028. IBIA currently represents over 60% of the private sports betting operators licensed in the province. All online sportsbetting operators licensed in Ontario are required to be part of a betting integrity monitoring body.
IBIA’s Q1 2024 report detailed 56 alerts during the quarter. IBIA alerts contributed to the investigations and subsequent successful sanctioning of 21 clubs, players and officials in 2023, an increase on the 15 sanctioned in 2022.
British Columbia Lottery Corporation
SCCG Management Signs Contract with British Columbia Lottery Corporation
SCCG Management has signed a contract with the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC), the B.C. Crown corporation which conducts and manages commercial gambling in the province, including lotteries, casinos, and online gaming. This partnership aims to undertake a comprehensive assessment and strategic enhancement of BCLC’s diverse operations.
The work between SCCG and BCLC will involve a thorough review of technological infrastructures, strategic market positioning, and the integration of various gaming modalities. SCCG’s extensive expertise will be pivotal in harmonizing BCLC’s online and physical gaming experiences.
Stephen Crystal, Founder and CEO of SCCG Management, said: “Our collaboration with BCLC represents a remarkable opportunity to push the boundaries of innovation within the gaming industry. We are committed to deploying our resources and expertise to enhance BCLC’s operational efficiencies and customer engagement strategies. It’s an honor to partner with an organization that has a robust impact on the community through its support of public initiatives.”
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has mandated all Ontario-registered sportsbook operators to halt offering and accepting wagers on World Boxing Association (WBA) events immediately. This measure is being taken to protect the Ontario betting public following concerns that WBA-sanctioned boxing matches are not adequately being safeguarded against match-fixing and insider betting.
Since December 2023, the AGCO has been conducting a comprehensive review of suspicious wagering activity on a WBA-sanctioned title fight between Yoenis Tellez and Livan Navarro that was held in Orlando, Florida. Suspicious betting patterns on the bout lasting over 5.5 rounds were reported to the AGCO by two registered independent integrity monitors and detected in Ontario by a registered igaming operator. Media reports also alleged that Tellez’s Manager placed $110,000 on the match lasting longer than 5.5 rounds at a Florida casino. The bout ended with Tellez knocking out Navarro in the 10th round.
Following an intensive review that included outreach to the WBA, Ontario-registered gaming operators, independent integrity monitors, and regulators in other jurisdictions, the AGCO has concluded that bets related to WBA events do not currently meet the Registrar’s Standards for Internet Gaming.
The AGCO requires all Ontario-registered gaming operators to ensure the sport betting products they offer are on events that are effectively supervised by a sport governing body. At a minimum, the sport governing body must have and enforce codes of conduct that prohibit betting by insiders.
Registered gaming operators were unable to demonstrate to the AGCO that the WBA prohibits betting from insiders, which could include an athlete’s coaches, managers, handlers, athletic trainers, medical professionals, or others with access to non-public information. Further, registered gaming operators were unable to demonstrate that the WBA took any action to investigate or enforce the allegations of potential match-fixing and insider wagering.
The AGCO has indicated to registered operators that in order for WBA betting products to be reinstated in Ontario, operators must demonstrate that the WBA effectively supervises its events, thus bringing them into compliance with the Registrar’s Standards. In December 2022, the AGCO required gaming operators to stop offering bets on UFC events for similar issues related to insider betting safeguards. Within a month, UFC amended its policies and implemented new protocols that allowed the AGCO to reinstate betting on UFC events in the province.
“Ontarians who wish to bet on sporting events need to be confident that those events are fairly run, and that clear integrity safeguards are in place and enforced by an effective sport governing body. Knowing the popularity of boxing in Ontario, we look forward to reinstating betting on WBA events once appropriate safeguards against possible match-fixing and insider betting have been confirmed,” Dr. Karin Schnarr, Registrar and CEO of AGCO, said.
Soft2Bet strengthens integrity monitoring with IBIA membership in Ontario
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