Four Australian men aged between 19 and 22 were arrested last Wednesday for their involvement in an esports match fixing scandal.
Victoria Police made the arrests following an investigation into betting made on a tournament for the competitive first person shooter, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO).
Players were allegedly betting on matches that they then deliberately lost.
Assistant Commissioner of Victoria Police, Neil Paterson, said this case was one of the first of its kind in Australia.
“Esports is really an emerging sporting industry and with that will come the demand for betting availability on the outcomes of tournaments and matches,” he said.
“It’s important that police and other agencies within the law enforcement, gaming and betting industries continue to work together to target any suspicious activity.
“These warrants also highlight that police will take any reports of suspicious or criminal activity within esports seriously, and we encourage anyone with information to come forward.”
WA Police also executed a warrant related to the investigation but did not make an arrest.
The alleged crimes carry a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
Victoria Police said they had been working with numerous betting agencies, including SportsBet, over the scandal.
SportsBet currently has betting markets for a number of esports including League of Legends, Starcraft2, and the ongoing CS:GO Berlin major in which Australian team, the Renegades, is playing tonight.
