ESL hides ongoing partnership with 1xBet

According to Dexerto, the well-known tournament operator ESL is reluctant to reveal its ongoing partnership with betting company 1xBet. The organizer of the eSports championships has rejected questions regarding cooperation with the bookmaker, which was declared bankrupt by the court of Curacao.

Last March, tournament operator ESL introduced 1xBet as the "first ever exclusive global betting partner" of the ESL Pro Tour CS:GO Championship series, and the ESL One Summer and Winter Dota 2 series. According to the organizers, the partnership included a number of user-generated segments in the broadcasts, including activities involving viewers.

The announcement of the partnership was met with widespread outrage and criticism due to the reputation of the betting company, which is headquartered in Cyprus and has a license issued in Curacao.

The original deal was to run "throughout 2021 and up to IEM Katowice 2022," an event that ended in February. However, the logo of the 1xBet betting company continues to be displayed on broadcasts of ESL competitions in CS:GO and Dota 2 disciplines, as well as on the official website of the tournament operator.

As Dexerto found out, ESL extended the partnership agreement with the bookmaker, but for some reason did not report this in the official press release. At the same time, the tournament operator is not the only esports company that 1xBet cooperates with. Currently, the bookmaker sponsors a number of esports organizations, including OG, Team Spirit and MIBR, as well as the world ranking of the best CS:GO teams from HLTV.

Last March, WePlay Esports, the Ukrainian tournament operator, also entered into a long-term partnership with 1xBet. That deal covered all WePlay Esports esports tournaments throughout 2021, starting with the WePlay Ultimate Fighting League, a multi-discipline league that includes Mortal Kombat 11, Soulcalibur VI, and Tekken 7.

The announcement drew heavy criticism from the fighting game community. A few weeks after the conclusion of the first season of WePlay Ultimate Fighting League, which ran from March 25 to April 11, 2021, developers NetherRealm (Mortal Kombat) and Bandai Namco (Tekken and Soul Calibur) issued similar statements announcing that they will no longer work with WePlay Esports due to the difference in the vision of the project development.

However, after the Russian invasion of the territory of Ukraine, WePlay Esports broke off any relations with Russian companies, including 1xBet. The tournament operator also stated that WePlay Ultimate Fighting League Season 1 was the "last project" they collaborated on with 1xBet.

How does the bankruptcy of 1xBet keep the company afloat?

Late last year, a Curacao court declared 1xBet's parent company, 1X Corp NV, bankrupt for failing to return funds to customers. This followed a class action lawsuit filed in August of the same year by the Online Gambling Victims Defense Foundation, which collects and investigates claims against Curacao -licensed online casinos. On May 6, the Curaçao Court granted the Fund's appeal against the decision of the court of first instance to dismiss the bankruptcy claim against 1X Corp NV

As part of the bankruptcy proceedings, Arend de Winter, a lawyer from Curaçao, was appointed by the court as a trustee to liquidate the company. The lawyer himself submitted the necessary documents for the liquidation of the betting company.

Despite the court ruling, 1xBet continues to offer its services in many countries around the world. In early August, the bookmaker signed a partnership with French football club PSG to become the club's regional partner in Africa and Asia before expanding to other regions from next season. At the same time, the bookmaker is officially banned in France, which did not prevent him from becoming a partner of the country's main football asset.

The betting company is also banned in other countries, including the US, UK, Spain, Poland and the Netherlands. Immediately after the litigation, English football clubs Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham terminated their contracts with 1xBet.

Why is ESL silent?

The news of 1xBet's bankruptcy only adds fuel to the discussion about ESL, one of the biggest esports companies in the world. Earlier this year, ESL and tournament platform FACEIT were acquired by Savvy Gaming Group, which is backed by the Saudi Arabian government's Sovereign Investment Fund, in a $1.5 billion deal.

This merger was the subject of massive discussion and censure from the community, since Saudi Arabia is among the countries in which strict religious laws prevail and women's rights are violated. In addition, ESL has also come under fire for its partnership with the US Air Force, which went into effect in February 2020.

In response to Dexerto representatives, the tournament operator clarified that it is still cooperating with the betting company 1xBet, with which it "will continue to work together."