The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) has taken disciplinary action against UK-based FIFA player Deluxe (aka Flynn Smith), who has disputed the investigation.
Deluxe has been banned for two years from competing in ESIC member tournaments for what ESIC states ‘improper influence on match outcomes and involvement in corrupt betting practices’. The ban runs from April 4th 2023 until midnight of April 3rd 2025.
ESIC published a press release saying that during a match played on February 24th 2023, FIFA player Deluxe was ‘alleged to have engaged in corrupt behaviour, which contravened the ESIC Anti-Corruption Code’.
Flynn ‘Deluxe’ Smith is a competitive gamer at SIS Ltd, according to his public LinkedIn page.
ESIC conducted an investigation looking at match footage, betting patterns and holding interviews.
“While we must maintain confidentiality to protect the integrity of the investigation, we can share that the evidence collected pointed to Mr. Smith’s involvement in activities that contravened articles 2.1.1 and 2.1.2 of the ESIC Anti-Corruption Code,” ESIC said in a statement.
“These activities include improper influence on match outcomes and involvement in corrupt betting practices.”
ESIC said FIFA player Deluxe accepted the charges and agreed to a plea bargain arrangement.
However, Deluxe told Esports News UK: “I was wrongfully accused of this, there was never any clear evidence to say I was involved in match fixing.
“Being a top player at the company, there was always an element of risk when losing to other players, as you are constantly expected to win.
“No real investigation was conducted and there was absolutely zero gameplay shown to me to confirm I was involved in this.”
In a follow-up message, Deluxe told us that he didn’t want to dispute the charges, but that he didn’t commit the offense ESIC says he did.
“I was wrongfully accused of this, there was never any clear evidence to say I was involved in match fixing. Being a top player at the company, there was always an element of risk when losing to other players, as you are constantly expected to win. No real investigation was conducted and there was zero gameplay shown to me to confirm I was involved.”
Flynn ‘Deluxe’ Smith
ESIC is a not-for-profit members’ association established in 2015 to instil esports integrity by clamping down on cheating in esports, including match manipulation and doping. It has offices in the UK and Australia.
SIS (Sports Information Services) is a supplier of betting services to retail and online operators. It is based in the UK and also has an SIS Competitive Gaming product, featuring live head-to-head video game competitions ‘to appeal to both sports bettors and esports bettors’. The product is 24/7 and has up to 150,000 live events per year.
SIS is also an Anti Corruption Supporter member of ESIC. Esports News UK has reached out to SIS to offer a right of reply. We’ll update this article with any comment they may provide.
In 2022, Esports News UK wrote a report about a separate Tournament Operator Member of ESIC’s, GT Sports Leagues, whose FIFA players were accused of suspicious in-game behaviour.
Statement on FIFA player Deluxe comes after a string of recent ESIC announcements
Today’s statement is the latest in a string of other announcements from ESIC over the past week, including the suspension of Joel ‘Joel’ Holmlund, a request for information on ‘an organised criminal utilising the alias “DEzCurse” approaching professional CSGO players on discord under the username DEzCurse#1309’ and the acceptance of an appeal made by Allan ‘Rejin’ Petersen.
There’s more on these on the ESIC social media X page embedded above.
“ESIC remains steadfast in our commitment to maintaining the highest standards of integrity in esports,” ESIC said.
“We will continue to conduct investigations and impose sanctions when necessary to protect the integrity of the industry. We also encourage the esports community to actively participate in promoting fair play and integrity in esports.”
The news comes after the 2023 ESIC Global Esports Summit took place in London earlier this year.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
