Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) and the Esports Integrity Coalition (ESIC) today announced their entrance into a collaborative memorandum of understanding (MoU).

Signed with a view to maintaining the integrity of both eSports and eSports betting, the aim of the MoU is to build cooperation between the two entities and protect eSports events and competitions from manipulation.

Working closely with its licensed operators, the MGA will provide ESIC with information on suspicious betting patterns and aid ESIC in investigating those patterns.

The agreement comes at a time when eSports betting is growing exponentially, with research firm Eilers and Krejcik Gaming forecasting that eSports betting turnover may exceed $23bn by 2020.

ESIC Integrity Commissioner Ian Smith said: “We are delighted that the Malta Gaming Authority has agreed to work with us in making eSports a safer wagering environment.

“The MGA is a very highly respected regulator of sports betting and it has been a pleasure developing this information sharing mechanism with them.

“Adding the experience and vital information of our other partners in the information exchange to the Authority’s intelligence database and vice versa will undoubtedly strengthen all our efforts considerably.”

Joseph Cuschieri, Chairman of the MGA said: “I am very pleased that we signed this MoU with ESIC. Keeping abuse and crime out of sports betting is high on our agenda and the MGA will always be at the forefront to collaborate in such matters both locally and internationally.”