Streaming video platform Twitch has acquired social networking platform Bebo for about $25 million according to a report at the website TechCrunch. The acquisition is part of Twitch’s plan to increase its eSports business and the platform Twitch Rivals.
Bebo is an early social network platform that debuted in 2005 but never gained traction in the international marketplace. In its most recent incarnation, the platform organizes and runs eSports tournaments with a focus on amateur leagues.
Twitch has been developing its own eSports operation in the form of Twitch Rivals. The merger will focus on expanding Twitch Rivals with more features. The acquisition also comes amid reports that Amazon—which owns Twitch—is working on a new eSports streaming service.
In another matter, the Esports Integrity Coalition, based in Malta, has called for eSports stakeholders, governing bodies and licensed gambling operators to collaborate in addressing growing “betting integrity” concerns.
The group announced that 74 suspicious betting alerts were recorded during 2018, an increase of almost 75 percent from the previous year, with DOTA2 matches detailing a 100 percent in alerts. Ian Smith, ESIC Integrity commissioner, said the figures are a “wakeup call.”
“The numbers of suspicious bet notifications being received by ESIC now are alarming,” he said in a press release. “While we’re confident that most of the top-tier competitions are operating to the highest standards of integrity, we’re deeply concerned with what is happening in the lower echelons of esports. We are therefore today calling on game developers of the esports titles to join the other stakeholders and betting operators themselves in supporting additional integrity measures to tackle the issue.”
The group recently held a summit on the issue in Malta.
Recently, the eSports League of Legend suspended player Xiang “Condi” Ren-Jie for 18 months and banned manager Song “Hesitate” Zi-Yang for life for match-fixing.
