ESIC Awards BETBY First CPU v CPU Gold Standard Certification

The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) announced on 12 November 2026 that sportsbook supplier BETBY is the first organization to be awarded its CPU v CPU Gold Standard, a voluntary integrity certification for automated esports matches that are offered to betting markets.

The award is the first decision under a scheme ESIC publicly launched on 29 October 2026. ESIC is a private, members-based integrity body, not a state regulator, so the certification carries no statutory force. It does give operators and suppliers a defined benchmark for a product category in which software, not people, produces the match result.

What ESIC announced on 12 November

ESIC awarded BETBY the Gold Standard after an on-site audit, a review of additional evidence and an independent audit review, all completed in August 2026. The public announcement followed in November. ESIC's programme page now lists BETBY as the only accredited organization, with the status "Gold Standard Certified – Active – 2026".

BETBY has committed to an annual audit review to keep the award. ESIC says the certification confirms BETBY met the applicable requirements "within the assessed scope". That wording matters: the award does not extend to every BETBY product.

Stephen Hanna, ESIC's chief executive, called the certification "an important first application of the Standard". Ilze Ramolina, BETBY's General Counsel, said integrity oversight and control frameworks must keep pace with new forms of esports content. ESIC encourages other providers to seek assessment.

What the standard requires

The Gold Standard is a technical and operational framework for automated esports competitions, often called CPU v CPU, in which computer-controlled players compete and the results are supplied to betting markets. It sets 17 areas of mandatory controls. These cover the systems that generate and validate results, the infrastructure that runs them, and the people authorized to change or operate them.

The framework sets separate requirements for three types of decision system: locally deployed machine-learning models, externally hosted large language model (LLM) application programming interfaces, and deterministic or rules-based algorithms. ESIC has published several examples of specific controls.

To be certified, a provider must comply with all 17 components, pass an independent audit review, commit to ongoing compliance and cooperate with ESIC oversight. ESIC can suspend or revoke certification for material non-compliance. It describes the framework as a "living standard" subject to periodic review, so the control set may change over time.

Scope of BETBY's award

According to BETBY's own release, as republished by iGaming Future, the certification covers the Betby Games CPU v CPU product portfolio. The areas listed include hosting and automated execution of matches, result integrity, architecture, change controls, access management, infrastructure security, monitoring and incident response. The same release says BETBY already holds ESIC Tier 1 Anti-Corruption Partner status, and ESIC's homepage shows BETBY's logo among its Tier 1 partners.

BETBY has built much of its esports offering around its odds feed. Earlier Gamingo coverage tracked its esports tournament odds and the launch of eTennis and eHorse Racing on that feed, both products in the simulated-event category that the new standard is designed to address.

What it means for operators and suppliers

The Gold Standard is an industry-set benchmark, not a licensing condition. No law or statutory regulator stands behind it, and the notes available show no regulator or operator formally recognizing or requiring it. For now its value is commercial: a supplier can point to an independent audit against a published control set, and an operator can use that as a due-diligence reference when choosing automated esports content.

The design reflects how automated matches differ from human competition. Where an AI model or algorithm decides an outcome, the integrity risks sit in code, model versions, access rights and deployment processes rather than in player behavior. The controls on signed artifacts, dual authorization and banned "latest" aliases address those risks directly, and the ban on manual intervention targets the possibility of anyone altering a result mid-match.

Standards of this kind are increasingly part of the compliance picture in European betting. Gamingo has also covered the EGBA's welcome for the EU's first gambling harm detection standard, a separate field but a similar move toward documented, auditable technical benchmarks. BETBY's wider push across markets, including Latin America, means certification of this type may matter to operators evaluating its simulated-event content.

The next test is whether other providers apply. ESIC has invited assessments but has named no further applicants, and BETBY is currently the only entry on its accredited list.

Status reviewed on 13 November 2026. The dates, control details and certification terms come from ESIC's press releases and programme page, and the scope description comes from BETBY's release as published by iGaming Future. More iGaming news and EMEA coverage.