The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC), formerly the Esports Integrity Coalition, is a non-profit members' association established in 2016 to promote and facilitate competitive integrity in

esports Esports (), short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, played individually or as teams. ...

. Notable for investigating the coaching bug scandal in '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'', the organization has received criticisms for a lack of resources and game knowledge.

History

The organization was founded by Ian Smith as the "Esports Integrity Coalition" in 2016 before rebranding in 2019. Smith had been an attorney working in sports regulation law before he was brought into the ''Global Offensive'' scene to investigate

skin gambling In video games, skin gambling (also known as skin betting) is the use of virtual goods, often cosmetic in-game items such as " skins", as virtual currency to bet on the outcome of professional matches or on other games of chance. It is common ...

. His recognition of the lack of regulatory bodies in the scene led to the founding of ESIC.

Services

The commission works to investigate and prevent all forms of

match fixing In organized sports, match fixing (also known as game fixing, race fixing, throwing, rigging, hippodroming, or more generally sports fixing) is the act of playing or officiating a contest with the intention of achieving a predetermined result, v ...

, cheating, and use of doping, most recently investigating the coaching bug in '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive''. The commission only employs five full-time workers and works by partnering with several betting websites and tournament organizers. The results of investigations are passed on to the organizers, who enforce the sanctions recommended by ESIC.

Criticism

While ESIC was initially seen as a positive project, the organization has come under significant criticism regarding its legitimacy and competence. According to ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', unnamed critics have described the organization as "underfunded". ESIC doing its work mostly hidden from the public has also caused "public speculation o curdleinto skepticism". Although ESIC received plaudits for the CS:GO coaching bug investigation, the organization has also been criticized for a perceived lack of expertise about the games it regulates. The ban of

Team Spirit Team Spirit was a joint military training exercise of United States Forces Korea and the Military of South Korea held between 1974 and 1993. The exercise was also scheduled from 1994 to 1996 but cancelled during this time period as part of diplom ...

's coach just before the PGL Major Antwerp 2022 for a minor offense of the coaching bug in 2020 due to ESIC's investigation stalling at the time and the eventual overturn right after the major caused backlash from the CS:GO community. ESIC was criticized in December 2022 when it lifted Nicolai "HUNDEN" Petersen's two-year ban early after a "constructive engagement between the two parties". HUNDEN was banned by ESIC in August 2021 after he leaked the strategy folder of Heroic, the team he was coaching, to other teams during IEM Cologne 2021.

References

{{reflist, 30em Esports organizations Cheating in esports