Gorgc On Esports Gambling: "Everybody's Salary Is Propped Up By It"

Janne "Gorgc" Stefanovski shared an interesting take on a recent stream. He discussed the recent public backlash that Artour "Arteezy" Babaev received for discussing taking on gambling sponsors in his stream. 

Let's break down Gorgc's statement and how it pertains to the current state of esports right now.

Gorgc: "It feels like sometimes streamers are put under a weird microscope that others don't."

In the video, Gorgc begins by revealing that he understands Arteezy's stance and how, for many others in the scene, gambling companies make up a huge part of their income.

"I understand what arteezy is saying. It feels like sometimes streamers are put under a weird microscope that others don't. Look at Mira here. You guys think Mira is getting a 20-30k salary a month out of the goodness of their hearts? No. He's getting it because he has this giant 1xbet (logo) on his shirt."

Let's start by saying that while streamers are a big part of every gaming community, I personally do not believe they function as moral paragons of the scene. They are people with financial needs, and some will have different outlooks on topics. What one person finds unethical, others may see as being justified and acceptable. 

Back to the salary discussion, we have shared several articles in the past on how player salaries in Dota 2 have skyrocketed. This is perhaps one of the reasons Tundra sold their Dota 2 lineup to 1Win, a betting company. And Gorgc is likely right; it's doubtful Myroslav "Mira" Kolpakov would make as much money if he didn't have a 1Xbet sponsor on his shirt.

"Every single pro player, Dota team, don't give me exceptions of oil money. They get huge salaries and benefits from being sponsored directly by gambling. Almost every org, except Falcons, Nigma, but that's two orgs."

This is an interesting take. While gambling is quite prevalent in the Dota 2 scene, that may be due to an older audience for it. For other games, particularly mobile gaming, the esports scene at least has fewer and less in-your-face gambling sponsors. I have attended several PMGC tournaments as a player manager and the tournament orginizers demand players cover up any gambling sponsors on their clothes and uniforms.

Still, Gorgc is probably referring to the Dota 2 scene, in which case he is mostly correct that a lot of teams and players get their money from gambling sponsors.

"If you wanna get rid of gambling, fine. But are you going to tell players "Don't take 20-30k salaries, take 5k bro. Don't take the gambling money. "Why are people on streamers ass always? like they are supposed to do better."

A fair point here. Often people in positions to make a lot of money through what can be perceived as morally dubious means are asked to instead forgo such opportunities, often with no incentive to do so. If Arteezy takes money from a gambling sponsor, he gets a tangible benefit to himself. If he doesn't, it's not like the community will reimburse him. 

Of course, it's not like it's the community's job to make up for any lost opportunity. But the point remains that choosing NOT to take gambling sponsors means you flat out lose money to gain... good will with people, I suppose?

Every person you see on-screen, every single caster who gets paid pretty good money, they get paid because Polymarket is sponsoring Blast. Everybody's salary is propped up by it. So if you want to get rid of it, I don't think we should necessarily target Arteezy and shame him. "Everybody is taking it, guys."

"If everyone else is doing it, it's ok for me to do it" is not a good argument. And rarely is it used to justify something positive. But I understand the sentiment. Multiple pro teams have a gambling sponsor; most tournaments have a gambling sponsor. It is a big part of the Dota 2 esports scene, and many people do take money from it. Whether it's players, casters, or tournament organisers. It can be very hard to say no to such money when you see many of your teammates and coworkers accepting it.

But does that make it ok?

Well, that's up to each person and their take on it. If these entities are legal, then governments have said they are fine. And in such circumstances, I do agree that it is unfair to place the moral burden of rejecting money on individuals, not large corporations and government bodies. Arteezy accepting the money will do a lot for his life; him rejecting it does not stop the gambling influence in Dota 2. 

I wrote this article not to support or condemn any view point. While I have some agreements with Gorgc, I don't think he is 100% right, and that's ok. We are different individuals, with different perspectives. I just wanted to discuss the issue deeper and hope we all walk away with a more nuanced take on a very controversial topic.

READ MORE: Collapse Discusses New Coach Milan

Featured Image Source: WESG