Oddin.gg’s Head of Risk says 99% of esports betting integrity risks come from lower-tier events
Sports betting has exploded in the past few years. And with this growth comes integrity concerns. According to IBIA, in the first quarter of 2026, esports alone accounted for 21 percent of its reported suspicious betting alerts among 10 major sports.
This isn’t very surprising. Esports betting has been growing rapidly year-over-year, and according to a report by Oddin.gg, betting volume grew between 18 and 62 percent for key titles – Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, League of Legends, VALORANT, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB).
Esports betting is unique because every single game offers a variety of options to wager from. Each match is influenced by countless decisions, from hero selections, map drafts, publisher-level patch changes, and more. Esports prediction markets have also made wagering more accessible. With this, integrity becomes even more important.
To understand the integrity issues with esports betting, and the role that data-led companies play in solving them, we spoke with Ondřej Žemba, the Head of Risk for Oddin.gg.
Here is the full interview.
IBIA’s Q1 2026 report showed esports accounted for 15 of 70 suspicious betting alerts globally. From Oddin.gg’s perspective, why does esports continue to represent such a significant share of integrity concerns?
Over the years, esports has shown steady growth in popularity, and the entire industry continues to expand—with more tournaments, more matches, more teams, more fans. This is all great news and exciting for us to see. Unfortunately, though, with growth comes greater risk, including one of the most common activities of bad actors, which is match-fixing.
How much of the integrity risk in esports today comes from lower-tier or semi-professional competitions compared to top-tier events?
I would say that approximately 99% of integrity risks come from lower-tier events, where there is typically less oversight, lower salaries, and they’re more vulnerable to outside influences. Tier 1 tournaments are generally safe and professionally managed, with strong integrity controls in place.
That said, just as in traditional sports, no competitive environment is completely risk-free. Even top professional athletes sometimes get involved in integrity violations.
At Oddin.gg, our Risk Management carefully evaluates the tournaments we cover and continuously monitors for suspicious activity. The goal is not only to protect our customers, but also to support the integrity of the esports betting industry.
Ondrej Zemba. Image credit: Oddin.gg
From the infrastructure side, what are the main indicators that trigger a suspicious betting alert? What does Oddin.gg’s monitoring process actually look like in practice?
That’s a good question, and it’s a bit tricky for me to answer because, obviously, I can’t fully disclose details about our risk management operations. However, what I can share is that we use a multi-layered integrity monitoring system. It combines automated AI-assisted alerts with continuous analysis by our Risk Management and integrity specialists, who have a deep understanding of the nuances of esports.
In general, we look for anomalies or behavioral patterns that diverge from the normal betting and player patterns that we expect to see in esports.
In addition, we maintain an extensive internal database that we call the blacklist. I believe ours is among the largest and most sophisticated in the esports industry. It includes detailed player histories and data, making it a very important tool for protecting our customers from match-fixing and helping our teams identify potential integrity concerns more effectively.
Ultimately, the goal is to proactively detect and stop suspicious activity in order to protect our customers and the esports betting ecosystem.
The esports ecosystem is highly fragmented compared to traditional sports. Does that make integrity enforcement more difficult for betting providers and regulators?
Partially yes. Compared to traditional sports, the esports ecosystem is still fragmented, with different tournament organizers, publishers, regions, and competitive standards operating at the same time. Because of that, there are still areas where the industry needs to continue improving from an integrity and regulatory perspective.
That said, the situation has improved significantly over the past several years. The biggest integrity risks generally come from lower-tier events, where oversight and operational standards may not be as strong. That’s why it is so important for betting providers to have robust risk management processes and to be selective about the tournaments they cover.
Have integrity risks in esports evolved over the past few years? For example, are betting-related threats becoming more sophisticated or harder to detect?
Definitely, but just as match-fixing is becoming more sophisticated, so are we. Our goal is to stay one step ahead to successfully protect our customers.
It’s a never-ending battle between us and betting syndicates, which are constantly trying to find weaknesses in the defenses of bookmakers and providers.
Rather than going into too much detail so as not to provide anyone with a “match-fixing manual,” what I can say is that over the past year, we’ve detected several highly sophisticated attempts at match-fixing that would have been unheard of just a few years ago. Thanks to our robust integrity systems, however, those attempts ultimately failed.
Oddin.gg is both an IBIA and ESIC member. How important is information-sharing between operators, tournament organizers, and integrity bodies when investigating suspicious activity?
It’s extremely important that information is shared between operators, tournament organizers, and integrity bodies like IBIA and ESIC. I would encourage more bookmakers and providers to become members of both organizations.
When the betting industry is united and working together, information about suspicious betting activity can be shared across the market very quickly. This allows bookmakers to react proactively—in some cases even before accepting any wagers—and significantly reduce potential damage.
Does the broader esports industry take betting integrity seriously enough today, or is there still a gap between tournament operations and betting oversight?
The seriousness with which the industry is taking integrity is definitely improving. Years ago, nobody wanted to talk to us about risk. Many people wanted to bury their heads in the sand and expect others to handle it.
They didn’t think it was their responsibility. That was a mistake. Match-fixing affects everyone in the industry, and people are finally starting to realize that a cleaner, more transparent ecosystem benefits everyone.
For example, last year we detected both suspicious betting patterns and suspicious in-game behavior in the very same match. We documented everything and shared our findings with all relevant stakeholders, including the organization involved, the tournament organizer, and integrity bodies.
Our efforts led to a very swift response from all parties, and the player involved is now facing sanctions. This shows how much more effective the industry can be when everyone works together and shares information quickly. It helps us all react faster, limiting potential damage, and sending a clear message that match-fixing and other integrity violations are taken seriously.
Featured image credit: MOONTON Games
Wasif Ahmed is the Lead Esports Editor for WIN.gg. He has been covering esports for nearly eight years, although his gaming journey started much earlier, when he was just four years old and was introduced to Road Rash on a dusty PC. Hit him up on X to talk about esports, why partnership models are the best fit for esports games, or if Halo 7 has finally been announced.
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