Former GODSENT CS:GO player Joel ‘Joel’ Holmlund has been provisionally suspended by the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) following alleged breaches of its Anti-Corruption Code.

ESIC stated that between March 27th-28th Holmlund placed bets on matches he played in. Moreover, on March 31st the player allegedly placed two bets against his own team in one match and from March 29th-May 1st he placed 17 bets on various CS:GO match-ups.

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The commission highlighted that the breaches took place whilst Holmlund was playing for Swedish esports organisation Godsent during BetBoom Playlist Urbanistic and IEM Dallas 2023 Europe Closed Qualifier.

As a result of the ruling, Holmlund has been provisionally suspended from competing in tournaments that are recognised ESIC members. The sanction duration has not been confirmed. ESIC is set to make an additional statement in October 2023 following the outcome of the investigation. 

Holmlund was served with a Notice of Charge on August 30th and denied the charges. This prompted ESIC to gather additional evidence and while the suspension still stands, Holmlund will be able to prevent new evidence by October 6th to be considered for reevaluation.

An excerpt of ESIC’s statement reads: “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.”

According to ESIC, the investigation into Holmlund’s charges includes examining digital footprints, including IP addresses, device IDs, and browser information; records of individual bets placed during specific events; and patterns of betting behaviour in relation to professional participation, among other factors. 

Founded in 2015, ESIC is a non-profit that aims to bolster integrity in esports. The organisation has partnered with numerous betting companies, tournament operators, government bodies, and other esports stakeholders.

On X (formerly Twitter), GODSENT issued a statement on the matter. An excerpt from the post reads: “Joel’s suspension from Godsent followed us being informed of serious allegations relating to match-fixing and betting in between the 27th of March and the 1st of May, on our own and other matches, coming from relevant parties in the industry.

“As soon as we retrieved the information we immediately suspended Joel from play. Then we have been closely collaborating with ESIC in helping them build a case and collecting evidence in collaboration with third parties.”