4. GAMBLING IN ESPORTS CASE STUDY
Similar to gambling in sports, it is believed that there are a number of risks for esports teams if they are not committed to ensuring their players, staff and fans receive safer gambling education. The respondent, esports expert, stated that there is a risk for players to engage in excessive gaming activities including esports betting and overspending, affecting their well-being and their significant others. This could have a knock- on effect on their performance, extending to possible cheating and match-fixing scandals and organisations could then receive; ‘fines, event, tournament or league bans, lose fan support, and loss of sponsors (gambling operators and others). The reputation can also be affected as gambling issues can lead to poor reputation and media and fan outrage.'
The respondent emphasised the need to target youth players when delivering player protection and duty of care initiatives as they are at risk due to ‘developing pre-frontal cortex which impacts their emotional regulation, decision making, problem solving, planning, reasoning and empathy’ . In comparison to traditional sports, esports youth players also have unique financial opportunities in terms of both prize money and salaried positions. Safer gambling initiatives must be interactive, structured sessions delivered by trained facilitators/peers. Educational programmes on gambling harms in esports should be introduced in schools, teaching young people about gaming and esports, and focusing on mental health and risky behaviours such as gambling. Mandatory education content should also be introduced to increase awareness for professional players, teams and organisations, and safer gambling messages should be enhanced during live tournaments and games.
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