New Zealand Esports Federation Becomes an Esports Integrity Commission Member

ESIC has welcomed the government-recognised National Sporting Organisation (NSO), New Zealand Esports Federation (NZESF), as the latest organisation to join ESIC in its efforts towards a uniform standard for integrity in esports.

The NZESF will work with ESIC to integrate ESIC’s Integrity Program into its operations. As a federation member, the NZESF will work with ESIC to administer ESIC’s Integrity Program across all sanctioned events. The membership will allow New Zealand-based tournament operator members of the NZESF to access ESIC’s industry-leading Integrity Program in order to ensure that competitive integrity is maintained within events.

As the NZESF has a strong focus on creating a pathway for young esports players to take their esports skills to the next level of competition, ESIC will also engage with the NZESF on various additional initiatives relating to participant education around issues prominently relating to betting on esports, match-fixing, and cheating.

Commenting on the NZESF membership, Ian Smith, ESIC Commissioner commented: “ESIC acknowledges the NZESF’s commitment and dedication to a uniform and global standard for competitive integrity in esports. As a member of ESIC, the NZESF will be able to engage with us on issues that are centrally related to youth protection and competitive integrity. Furthermore, the NZESF’s members will enjoy the benefit of a global network of information relating to the maintenance of competitive integrity in events. We are looking forward to facilitating the development of esports in New Zealand in a fair manner in our work with the NZESF.”

President of NZESF, Ben Lenihan, added: “Part of our mandate as an NSO is to monitor and enforce the integrity of events sanctioned by us. This is becoming increasingly relevant as gambling becomes a bigger part of the world of esports. We have engaged with ESIC in order to be able to supply sanctioned tournament operators with world-class monitoring and investigation services. This will ensure that our sanctioned events are reputable and can be relied on to deliver a fair result that reflects the real abilities of the players.”