eSports
British Esports Association collaborates with IBM and industry specialists to create a safer esports space for young people
The British Esports Association, the not-for-profit organisation set up to promote and support grassroots esports, has revealed first details of its new membership platform.
The platform, scheduled to launch in spring 2021 initially for 12-19 year olds (with plans to expand to other age groups later on), will ensure users are verified at point of entry and that communication within the platform is reviewed to reduce toxicity and cyber threats.
The collaboration with IBM will explore how IBM Watson products can be used to enhance user experience, safety and wellbeing of young gamers.
The Association has also teamed up with safety technology provider GoBubble for real-time content moderation and will deliver accurate age verification using privacy preserving AI technology from Yoti to ensure age appropriate interactions.
Alongside the work of these partners, British Esports consulted with the NSPCC to ensure there are strong and consistent safeguarding procedures in the association.
Finally, British Esports, GoBubble and Yoti have been invited to test the platform within the Information Commissioner’s Office’s (ICO) Sandbox. This is a service developed by the ICO to support organisations who are creating products and services which utilise personal data in innovative and safe ways.
IBM is a global leader in hybrid cloud and AI. The intention is to use IBM Watson Assistant to engage gamers via a virtual assistant in the form of a gaming avatar. The assistant will also utilise IBM Watson Discovery to provide personalised content to enable the gamer to improve their skills, compete in tournaments and find the latest video from their favourite influencer.
The project partners will also explore how Red Hat OpenShift can enable the platform to scale to a global market and even potentially beyond the world of esports. The intention is to containerise the platform, enabling it to be deployed directly onto the cloud infrastructures of other esports bodies and potentially to any organisation that runs a digital community.
Yoti is the world’s leading identity platform with accurate age estimation technology providing a secure way of proving ages, without revealing any personal information. There’s no need for ID documents and images are deleted after the age check. The free Yoti app also enables people to prove their age with one tap, which is verified with a government ID and their unique facial biometrics. Yoti’s combination of AI technology, liveness anti-spoofing and ID document checks ensures businesses can be confident in the age of their customers.
GoBubble’s child-centred ecosystem helps developers safely scale and reduce the risk of children being exposed to anything inappropriate. GoBubbleWrap, GoBubble’s content moderation SaaS API, will be utilised to provide real-time text moderation across the platform to reduce toxicity and steer gamers towards more positive behaviour.
This creates an attractive proposition for parents and teachers looking for a safer space for their children and student gamers to play together.
Chester King, British Esports Association CEO and founder, commented: “Over the past few years we’ve worked hard to build a community of esports fans from schools and colleges across the UK.
“What’s been clear through feedback from parents and teachers is the need to ensure that young people know who they are playing and communicating with, and that where communication takes place, we must work hard to reduce toxicity in all its forms.
“When addressing these concerns, we also must keep in mind the experience for young people, so whilst we have a focus in a safer space, we want to ensure that the experience is relevant and exciting. This will be done through curated relevant content, exclusive offers, discounts and competitions and exciting esports tournaments taking place throughout the year.”
Kay Thompson, Media & Entertainment Industry lead at IBM, said “IBM is hugely excited to be working with the British Esports Association and its partners on this tech for good initiative to protect our children whilst gaming”.
Christian McMullen, Head of Professional Engagement at the NSPCC, said: “We have a mission to ensure every child is safe online and were delighted to be approached by the BEA with an exciting proposal to make the world of esports safer for children.
“The NSPCC worked with the BEA to strengthen their safeguarding procedures as well as develop a code of conduct and content for their safe gaming guidance for children and parents.
“By integrating safety by design into their new platform, the British Esports Association is demonstrating their intention to create a safer space for the gaming community that has the potential to improve young people’s safety in the world of esports.”
Julie Dawson, Director of Regulatory and Policy at Yoti, said: “Through the ICO Sandbox, Yoti, GoBubble and British Esports will develop privacy-preserving and ‘ethics by design’ systems that support under 13s age verification and associated parental consent. This same approach can support many other companies to comply in a friction-free way with the Age Appropriate Design Code and protect children.”
Henry Platten, GoBubble CEO and founder, added: “The dedication British Esports has to unite everyone in a single, safer, healthier and kinder community is inspiring. We’re honoured to help bring our experience and technology in creating safer, scalable and positive communities in 70 countries to benefit British Esports’ vision.”
Further launch information, pricing and other details are to be confirmed nearer the platform’s launch.
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eSports
GIANTX unveils its team for the Spanish Superliga of League of Legends
The global esports organization GIANTX has officially presented the roster for its League of Legends Superliga team, the most prestigious esports competition in Spain, organized by the LVP. The roster includes Feisty (midlaner) and Aetinoth (ADC), who continue for another year after establishing themselves as key players for the organization, and newcomers Badlulu (toplaner), Ferret (jungler), and Lospa (support).
The team, known as GIANTX Pride, will be led by Fearless, a veteran coach who has already won three Superliga titles with GIANTX. After previous stints with teams like Guasones and Rebels, Fearless returns to lead this young and promising roster as they pursue the organization’s long-awaited eighth Superliga trophy, with the season set to begin in January 2025.
The roster was revealed during an event at the Home of GIANTX in Málaga, attended by over 150 fans and supported by Opel, the team’s main partner in the Superliga. The event featured activities, giveaways, and a showmatch against Barça Esports, where fans got a first glimpse of the team in action.
Feisty (South Korea, 2003) and Aetinoth (Turkey, 2005) return for another year, having gained recognition as rising talents with potential for the LEC, Europe’s premier competition in which GIANTX also competes. Badlulu (France, 2002), with prior experience in the Superliga at CASE Esports, joins as the toplaner. Ferret (Turkey, 2001), a promising jungler from the Turkish scene, comes from FUT, while Lospa (South Korea, 2002), a former Iberian Cup champion, joins as support after training in Gen.G Academy.
GIANTX Pride is the most decorated organization in Superliga LVP history, with seven titles to its name. The last victory came in the summer of 2021, and the team is determined to add the elusive eighth trophy to its collection. The Superliga for 2025 will feature ten teams, including Barça Esports, Guasones, Los Heretics, LUA Gaming, Movistar KOI, Ramboot Club, UCAM Esports, VENI VIDI VICI, and ZETA, competing across three splits—winter, spring, and summer.
The LVP, part of Grupo Mediapro, has introduced changes to the Superliga’s format for 2025. The updated calendar will be released soon, setting the stage for another thrilling season.
The post GIANTX unveils its team for the Spanish Superliga of League of Legends appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
eSports
GRID Joins IBIA as an Associate Member, Strengthening Esports Integrity
GRID, an esports data platform, has officially joined the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) as a first esports-focused Associate Member. This collaboration signifies a pivotal moment for esports integrity, aligning GRID with IBIA and its globally recognized integrity-focused members, who monitor over $300bn in sports bets per annum and have a growing focus on esports betting.
With this partnership, GRID and IBIA are committed to collaboratively addressing any integrity issues in esports, fostering trust across stakeholders, and setting a benchmark for excellence in the ecosystem. GRID has been a certified member of IBIA’s Data Standards program since 2022, actively contributing to the development of tailored esports integrity protocols. This membership further underscores GRID’s dedication to transparency and collaboration in combating betting-related corruption within esports.
Since 2018, GRID has operated an internal integrity department pioneering official data-driven solutions for esports. This makes GRID one of the first companies to monitor tournament and data integrity in the competitive sports sector and actively flag and report suspicious behavior, enabling it to collect a large database of integrity reports and insights.
IBIA is a not-for-profit body that protects regulated sports betting markets from match-fixing. It represents over 50 of the world’s leading betting companies which operate over 125 sports betting brands. IBIA’s global monitoring network is a highly effective anti-corruption tool, detecting and reporting suspicious activity in regulated betting markets using transactional activity linked to individual customer accounts.
Under the partnership, GRID and IBIA will share information relating to suspicious esports betting and potential match manipulation from their respective monitoring and intelligence platforms. IBIA members will also benefit from free access to wider integrity-focused resources supplied by GRID.
Moritz Maurer, CEO of GRID, commented: “Integrity is at the heart of GRID’s mission. By joining IBIA as an Associate Member, we are taking a definitive step toward establishing esports as a trusted and credible industry. This partnership enables us to further our efforts in promoting transparency, reducing risks associated with esports betting, and strengthening operational practices across the ecosystem.’’
Khalid Ali, CEO of IBIA, said: “We are delighted to welcome GRID as an Associate Member of IBIA. This partnership is a landmark for the esports sector and reflects our commitment to expanding our integrity initiatives into new markets. GRID’s expertise in esports data monitoring and integrity standards is an invaluable asset in our shared mission to combat betting corruption globally.”
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eSports
ComeOn Group and Astralis unite to drive esports engagement in the Nordics
ComeOn Group announced a sponsorship partnership between its flagship brand ComeOn! and Denmark based Astralis, one of the most esteemed esports organisations globally. As a global leader in esports, Astralis is providing a vibrant and engaging esports experience that is aligned with ComeOn!’s brand experience and is further enhanced by its focus in providing a leading esports betting destination.
As the official sponsor of Astralis, ComeOn! will be prominently featured across all of their platforms, including social media, team events, and competitive gaming content, boosting their brand exposure in key global markets with a focus on the Nordics. ComeOn! is already known as a vibrant brand in the Nordics and with the increased brand visibility it will be put at the heart of the fast-growing esports scene.
ComeOn Group continues to invest in its Sportsbook product experience that is powered by its proprietary sportsbook platform, where esports holds an important strategic market opportunity with its ever growing demand.
Juergen Reutter, Chief Executive Officer at ComeOn Group, said: “We are very excited to team up with Astralis as this collaboration not only allows us to showcase our innovative Sportsbook platform but also strengthens our ties to the esports community. This partnership is very much in the heart of one of the fastest growing betting markets globally. Esports has seen great demand by our audiences, and we want to provide the best betting experience for our customers. This partnership is also a testament to our localisation and personalisation focus and by working together with Astralis, we can deliver unique experiences that resonate with our players and elevate the entertainment experience around competitive gaming.”
Mads Rasmussen, Commercial Director at Astralis, said: ”We are proud to present ComeOn Group as our new global partner. This partnership holds great significance for Astralis both as an organization and as a business, and we look forward to bringing the agreement to life, benefiting the vast majority of our fanbase – who are adults. We have undergone a long and very positive process with ComeOn, and the fact that they are European-based with licenses in all our key markets, including Denmark, has been a decisive factor in our decision. Astralis fans, both in Denmark and internationally, can look forward to an innovative new digital activation, which promises to deliver an exciting and engaging experience.”
The post ComeOn Group and Astralis unite to drive esports engagement in the Nordics appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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