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Public Statement on Disciplinary Action Against Participant Joel “Joel” Holmlund

Public Statement on Disciplinary Action Against Participant Joel “Joel” Holmlund

Introduction

The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) has taken decisive action to provisionally suspend Mr. Joel “Joel” Holmlund, a professional esports player, formerly of team Godsent, from all ESIC Member events in light of evidence available corroborating allegations of his multiple breaches of the ESIC Anti-Corruption Code.

Overview of the Case

It is alleged that Mr. Joel Holmlund, while being a professional player for the team Godsent, engaged in corrupt behavior contravening the ESIC Anti-Corruption Code during his participation in the BetBoom Playlist Urbanistic event, and separately in the IEM Dallas 2023 (Europe Closed Qualifier) involving Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), for the following infringements:

  1. Between the period of 27 March 2023 to 28 March 2023, Mr. Holmlund placed bets on matches he was playing in;
  2. On 31 March 2023, Mr. Holmlund placed two bets against his own team in one match; and
  3. Between the period of 29 March 2023 to 1 May 2023, Mr. Holmlund proceeded to place 17 bets on various CS:GO matches.

Although the tournament related to item 1 was not an ESIC member event tournament, the ESIC Codes allow ESIC to issue a Rejection Order pursuant to item 2.A.2 of the Anti-Corruption Code. The tournament related to item 2 was an ESIC member event, and the ESIC Codes give ESIC jurisdiction. This sanction will be issued to all ESIC members and may be adopted by other third parties at their discretion.

Investigation and Charges

Our comprehensive investigation into the matter involved examining:

  1. Records of individual bets placed during specific events.
  2. Multiple account registrations and their associated details.
  3. Digital footprints, including IP addresses, device IDs, and browser information.
  4. Linkages between the betting accounts and various social media platforms.
  5. Betting patterns in relation to specific esports matches and in-game performance.
  6. Records of bets placed on various esports matches.
  7. Patterns of betting behavior in relation to professional participation.

ESIC is grateful for the cooperation of our Anti-Corruption Supporter member betting operators for providing this evidence.

After collating and reviewing the evidence in light of the allegations, Mr. Holmlund was charged with a breach of ESIC’s Anti-Corruption Code, particularly:

2.1 Corruption:

2.1.1 Fixing or contriving in any way or otherwise influencing improperly, or being a party to any effort to fix or contrive in any way or otherwise influence improperly, the result, progress, conduct, or any other aspect of any Match.

 2.2 Betting:

2.2.1 Betting on any CS:GO Match, including matches that you were a professional participant in  as detailed in the infringements above.

2.2.2 Facilitating, aiding, abetting or otherwise assisting any party in committing acts described in 2.2.1.

2.2.3 Failing to disclose to the ESIC a full and true disclosure of all the facts and circumstances with respect to acts described in 2.1 and 2.2.

And further offences under the ESIC Code of Conduct articles as follows;

2.4.5 Where the facts of the alleged incident are not adequately or clearly covered by any of the above offences, conduct that brings Esport, the Game, Event, ESIC or a Member into disrepute.

Mr. Holmlund was served with a Notice of Charge on 30 August 2023 and given an opportunity to respond. After denying the charges in reply, ESIC gathered additional evidence to assess the veracity of his denials.

Considering the gravity of the allegations, Mr. Holmlund’s current active participation in an ESIC-affiliated event, and being satisfied with the compelling evidence presented in its further investigation, ESIC has elected to suspend Mr. Holmlund via a Rejection Order Notice. While the suspension stands, ESIC remains open to reevaluation should Mr. Holmlund present new evidence by 6 October 2023.

Sanction Duration

At the time of publication, as the Rejection Order Notice has not been finalised, ESIC will reserve the disclosure of the duration of the ban on participation in ESIC member events to be imposed. ESIC will make a further statement on or after 6 October 2023 to confirm the final outcome of the investigation.

The ESIC Open Matters Register, found on the ESIC website, will facilitate any further public updates about this matter as published by ESIC from time to time, and at its discretion.

Tribunal finds Marlon Samuels guilty under Anti-Corruption Code

Tribunal finds Marlon Samuels guilty under Anti-Corruption Code

Former West Indies player Marlon Samuels has been found guilty of four offences under the Emirates Cricket Boad (ECB) Anti-Corruption Code following a hearing by an independent Anti-Corruption Tribunal.

Samuels, who was charged by the ICC (in its capacity as the Designated Anti-Corruption Official under the ECB Code) in September 2021, has been found guilty after he exercised his right to a hearing before the Tribunal. 

The Tribunal will now consider the submissions of each party before deciding on the appropriate sanction to be imposed. The decision will follow in due course.

Samuels has been found guilty of:

Article 2.4.2 (by a majority decision) – Failing to disclose to the Designated Anti-Corruption Official, the receipt of any gift, payment, hospitality or other benefit that was made or given in circumstances that could bring the Participant or the sport of cricket into disrepute.

Article 2.4.3 (unanimous decision)- Failing to disclose to the Designated Anti-Corruption Official receipt of hospitality with a value of US $750 or more.

Article 2.4.6 (unanimous decision) – Failing to cooperate with the Designated Anti-Corruption Official’s investigation.

Article 2.4.7 (unanimous decision) – Obstructing or delaying the Designated Anti-Corruption Official’s investigation by concealing information that may have been relevant to the investigation.

The decision (which has been redacted to protect the identities of the ICC’s witnesses and other third parties) is available here.

For the media release on the charges against Samuels in September 2021, click here.

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65 suspicious betting alerts reported by IBIA in Q3 2021

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he International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) reported 65 cases of suspicious betting to the relevant authorities during the third quarter (Q3) of 2021. The Q3 2021 total represents a 14% decrease compared to Q3 2020, which saw 76 alerts. The Q3 2021 alerts covered tennis (23 cases), football (18), table tennis (17), esports (2) and one each in handball, cricket, squash, basketball and futsal. From a geographical perspective, Europe accounted for nearly 60% of all alerts reported during Q3, followed by Asia with 15% and Africa 12%.

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FIFPRO and UEFA join forces to fight match-fixing

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FIFPRO and UEFA have signed a joint cooperation agreement that recognises the Red Button whistleblowing app as the go-to platform for professional footballers to report possible match-fixing incidents. 

Eight charged under the Emirates Cricket Board Anti-Corruption Code

Eight charged under the Emirates Cricket Board Anti-Corruption Code
The International Cricket Council (ICC), on behalf of the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB), has charged eight players and officials for breaching different counts of the ECB Anti-Corruption Code for Participants for the T10 League (the ‘Code’).

The charges relate to the 2021 Abu Dhabi T10 Cricket League and attempts to corrupt matches in that tournament – these attempts were disrupted. The ICC was appointed by the ECB as the Designated Anti-Corruption Official (DACO) for the purposes of the ECB’s Code for this tournament and as such are issuing these charges on the ECB’s behalf.

Those charged are:

Krishan Kumar Chaudhary (co-owner of a team):

Article 2.4.5 – Failing to disclose to the DACO (without unnecessary delay) full details of any incident, fact, or matter that comes to the attention of a Participant that may evidence Corrupt Conduct under the Anti-Corruption Code by another Participant.

Article 2.4.6 – Failing or refusing, without compelling justification, to cooperate with any investigation carried out by the DACO in relation to possible Corrupt Conduct under the Code.

Article 2.4.7 – Obstructing or delaying a DACO investigation into possible Corrupt Conduct under the Code.

Parag Sanghvi (co-owner of a team):

Article 2.2.1 - Placing bets on the results, progress, conduct or other aspect of International and Domestic Matches.

Article 2.4.6 – Failing or refusing, without compelling justification, to cooperate with any investigation carried out by the DACO in relation to possible Corrupt Conduct under the Code.

Ashar Zaidi (batting coach):

Article 2.1.1 – Being party to an attempt to fix, contrive or influence improperly matches or aspects of matches in the Abu Dhabi T10 2021.

Article 2.1.4 – Directly or indirectly soliciting, inducing, enticing, instructing, persuading, encouraging or intentionally facilitating any Participant to breach Article 2.1.

Article 2.4.4 - Failing to disclose to the DACO full details of any approaches or invitations received to engage in Corrupt Conduct under the Code.

Rizwan Javed (domestic player):

Article 2.1.1 – Being party to an attempt to fix, contrive or influence improperly matches or aspects of matches in the Abu Dhabi T10 2021.

Article 2.1.3 – Offering a Reward to another Participant in exchange for that player engaging in Corrupt Conduct.

Article 2.1.4 – Directly or indirectly soliciting, inducing, enticing, instructing, persuading, encouraging or intentionally facilitating any Participant to breach Code Article 2.1.

Article 2.4.4 - Failing to disclose to the DACO full details of any approaches or invitations received to engage in Corrupt Conduct under the Code.

Article 2.4.6 – Failing or refusing, without compelling justification, to cooperate with any investigation carried out by the DACO in relation to possible Corrupt Conduct under the Code.

Saliya Saman (domestic player):

Article 2.1.1 – Being party to an attempt to fix, contrive or influence improperly matches or aspects of matches in the Abu Dhabi T10 2021.

Article 2.1.3 – Offering a Reward to another Participant in exchange for that player engaging in Corrupt Conduct under the Code.

Article 2.1.4 – Directly or indirectly soliciting, inducing, enticing, instructing, persuading, encouraging or intentionally facilitating any Participant to breach Code Article 2.1.

Sunny Dhillon (assistant coach):

Article 2.1.1 – Being party to an attempt to fix, contrive or influence improperly matches or aspects of matches in the Abu Dhabi T10 2021.

Article 2.4.4 - Failing to disclose to the DACO full details of any approaches or invitations received to engage in Corrupt Conduct under the Code.

Article 2.4.6 – Failing or refusing, without compelling justification, to cooperate with any investigation carried out by the DACO in relation to possible Corrupt Conduct under the Code.

Nasir Hossain (Bangladesh player):

Article 2.4.3 – Failing to disclose to the DACO receipt of a gift worth over $ 750.

Article 2.4.4 - Failing to disclose to the DACO full details of any approaches or invitations received to engage in Corrupt Conduct under the Code.

Article 2.4.6 – Failing or refusing, without compelling justification, to cooperate with any investigation carried out by the DACO in relation to possible Corrupt Conduct under the Code.

 Shadab Ahamed (team manager):

Article 2.4.6 – Failing or refusing, without compelling justification, to cooperate with any investigation carried out by the DACO in relation to possible Corrupt Conduct under the Code.

Six of the charged - Krishan Kumar Chaudhary, Parag Sanghvi, Azhar Zaidi, Rizwan Javed, Saliya Saman and Sunny Dhillon - have been provisionally suspended and all have 14 days from 19 September 2023 to respond to the charges.

French tennis player banned for life

French tennis player banned for life

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) today confirms that French tennis player Alexis Musialek has been banned from tennis for life following 39 breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP).

Musialek, who reached a career-high ATP singles ranking of 255 in 2015, denied all charges brought against them, but was found by independent Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer (AHO) Raj Parker to have been involved in the fixing of nine matches between 2016 and 2018, alongside failing to co-operate with an ITIA investigation by withholding evidence.

The 35-year-old was found to have - among other offenses - contrived the outcome of multiple matches, received money, benefit or consideration for contriving the outcome of these matches, and facilitated other players not to use their best efforts.

This case is the latest in a series of investigations pursued by the ITIA in conjunction with law enforcement in Belgium, which has seen a number of tennis players implicated in match-fixing incidents, and the leader of the scheme jailed for five years.

In this case, evidence from the Belgian proceedings supported intelligence gathered through parallel ITIA investigations and industry betting alerts.

As a result of this ruling, Musialek will be prohibited from playing in, coaching at, or attending any tennis event authorised or sanctioned by the governing bodies of tennis permanently. They have also been fined $50,000. The sanction is effective from 5 August 2023.

The ITIA is an independent body established by the International Governing Bodies of Tennis to promote, encourage, enhance, and safeguard the integrity of professional tennis worldwide.

The full decision can be accessed by clicking here.

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For further updates, please visit our news section.

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Sportsflare joins ESIC as an Anti-Corruption Supporter

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Sportsflare is the latest company to join ESIC in its fight against betting fraud and corruption in esports, joining over 40 Anti-Corruption Supporters around the world. Being an Anti-Corruption Supporter, Sportsflare will assist ESIC in investigating suspicious betting activity across their betting platform, endorsing ESIC’s greater effort against match-fixing and betting fraud within esports.

2021 Suspicious Betting Trends in Global Football Report

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Stats Perform Integrity and Starlizard Integrity Services have released their fourth annual Suspicious Betting Trends in Global Football Report. The report aims to provide fellow stakeholders in the sports integrity community with a significant and informative overview of current trends in suspicious football betting.

Sport Integrity Australia 12 months in

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Sport Integrity Australia first opened its doors on 1 July 2020 at a time when the sporting landscape in Australia was unlike anything we’ve ever seen: COVID-19 was impacting sporting competitions and, indeed, their very survival was in doubt. This, coupled with growing global unrest around the treatment of athletes, presented challenges beyond comprehension. Here we look at how Sport Integrity Australia responded, and some key milestones for our first 12 months.

LawInSport Weekly News Recap - 1 October

LIS News Roundup

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We hope you find this useful. If you have any related questions or feedback, please don’t hesitate to contact us. 

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