An Australian Overwatch Contenders team is under investigation for alleged links to organized crime, Australian news site ABC reported yesterday.
Police in Victoria, Australia’s Sporting Integrity Intelligence Unit told ABC that “betting anomalies” were reported for an Australian Overwatch Contenders team’s matches. There are eight teams participating in the Australian Overwatch Contenders event — Athletico, Ground Zero Gaming, Legacy Esports, Melbourne Mavericks, Mindfreak G, Order, Sydney Drop Bears, and Warriors — but the team under investigation was not named.
“There is no test of a fit and proper person to be engaged as an owner of an esports team,” Victoria assistant police commissioner Neil Paterson told ABC. “We are seeing people encroach on that area that have reputations that [mean they] probably [...] shouldn’t be involved in this part of esports.”
Paterson added that two Australian players reportedly “told their associates to bet on the fixed matches,” according to the ABC report, which was spotted by Kotaku Australia this morning.
Polygon has reached out to Blizzard Entertainment and Victoria police about the investigation.
In August, multiple Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players were arrested in Australia during the ongoing match-fixing investigation. ABC’s latest report suggests six players were arrested during the investigation so far; Paterson said he expects “dozens more” could be implicated. The report also noted that up to $30,000 could have been won in games involving match fixing.