In April, the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) issued an unprecedented number of sanctions for match-fixing and irregular betting in esports. The agency concluded some longstanding cases and also flagged up new suspicions in a sign that the industry is struggling to deal with increased gambling.
In total, ESIC confirmed 14 disciplinary actions in April. These mainly related to match manipulation for betting purposes, but also included a ban for Maurizio “MAUschine” Weber over his on-stage assault CAGGTUS LEIPZIG Event.
Last week, DATA.BET highlighted that low-tier esports events are seeing increased betting activity, which could be contributing to a rise in corruption.
Month Concludes With Team Senza Sanctions
April concluded with ESIC detailing the outcome of a a six-month investigation into Team Senza (formerly Rosy).
Kirsan “byek” Ivanov received a two-year ban, while five other members received 12-month bans for their lack of cooperation in the investigation. The team was also fined $20,000.
Petr “timeagento” Markheev previously admitted to cheating and was given a 5-year ban. The player, who also competed under the alias Damiel, will serve a total ban of six years as he was also one of the team members sanctioned due to a lack of cooperation.
ESIC stressed that it was unable to confirm that all the players sanctioned had cheated or profited from betting on matches, as the team failed to provide the requested evidence.
Team NOMERCY Under Investigation
Like Team Senza, Team NOMERCY is now under investigation. ESIC confirmed suspected integrity breaches arising from various matches played by the organization, including, but not limited to, the Roman Imperium Cup VII on March 28th 2026.
As a result, all members of the team’s roster have been provisionally suspended from competing at any sanctioned competitions.
ESIC alleges that the team manipulated its performance for betting purposes, deliberately underperforming to win “high-value wagers linked to match outcomes and round margins”.
Increased Prop Betting: Increasing Risks
April began with ESIC issuing a four-year ban to CS2 player Dmytro “nifee” Tediashvili. Fellow CS2 player Savelii “jmqa” Bragin is also under investigation over allegedly approaching players to engage in match-fxing.
The increased availability of prop markets could be driving an increase in the cases of match manipulation, particularly at low-tier events.
With prediction markets now adding a wide range of markets, players have increased opportunities to wager on events.
The phenomenon is not restricted to CS2, as ESIC also banned Dota 2 players Alexandr “Sensibility” Filatov and Tommy “Taiga” Le in April. Both players were given lifetime bans for match-fixing.
Is Match-Fixing Rising?
ESIC has been increasing its partnerships with betting companies over the past year meaning the disciplinary actions could be a case of better monitoring rather than increased instances of match-fixing.
In addition to licensed sportsbooks, it partnered with offshore crypto betting platforms such as Rollbit and Stake last year.
There are mixed reports of whether match-fixing is on the rise or not. Sportradar issued a report showing a decline in suspected match-fixing cases, while the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) flagged up a rise.
The true figure is impossible to know, but the host of sanctions issued by ESIC in April suggest it is still a major concern for the integrity of esports.