Match-Fixing Scandal Hits South Korean Video Games
from the where-there-is-money-to-be-made... dept
Online gaming is massively popular in South Korea, so much so that its popularity among teens -- and their propensity to stay up all night playing them -- is seen as serious social problem. But the country's professional gaming leagues have been hit by a match-fixing scandal in which players and officials have allegedly taken bribes (via the BBC) from gamblers to throw games of StarCraft. The incredible popularity of StarCraft, and other online games, in Korea has created enough interest to fuel illegal gambling sites that bet on the outcome of matches between the country's 12 pro teams. The maker of StarCraft, Blizzard, has been trying to take a cut of the TV revenues generated from the matches, a move that wasn't well received in Korea. It looks like that spat might get precluded by the crumbling of the pro league.Filed Under: gambling, online gaming, south korea, starcraft
