Bets placed on the Boston Major

I thought I would address the recent reddit post regarding my betting during the Boston Major.



Firstly, I don’t particularly regret having placed the bets in the sense that I know in my own mind that these bets were placed in good faith with no “inside information”. However, I wouldn’t do it again having said that as I do understand the confusion that can surround such a situation.



So just to address a couple of points.



There has been a lot of talk about it being unethical:



This is really a point of view thing. In some (many) countries gambling is illegal, and then it would be highly unethical. Myself I am based in the UK and gambling here is not the taboo that it is in other countries (the bookmaker I placed the bets with are also a UK based company). In the UK it’s completely legal for instance to bet on a horse you own should it be running in a race (and positively encouraged by many).



That said, I can appreciate where people are coming from when they are shocked by my actions. When considering what you find unethical you shouldn’t assume this counts for everyone, different walks of people have many different views to yourself, and this should be embraced rather than the assumption that your point of view is the only correct one. You shouldn’t assume that this makes you a better person because you have a higher/lower level of tolerance for something. That said, should Valve wish for anyone with any connection to a team to not bet, then clearly, I would adhere to these rules.



Inside information:



There have been a lot of suggestions that I could have had inside information on scrims/team disputes etc (surrounding both Ad Finem and other teams at Boston). This isn’t the case, these bets were placed in November the month before the Boston Major (indeed it would actually have been illegal for me to have placed any bets in America due to the restrictions in the region I was based). Ask yourself if you would make the winners of the next European qualifiers a 50/1 shot to win a single elimination Major, myself I would not.



Valve and betting:



I’m unaware of Valves rules to betting, and indeed have at no point had any contact with Valve about anything. I would be very happy to discuss this with Valve should they wish to open a dialog. One recommendation I would make is that when the emails are sent to individuals regarding their flights etc. are sent that Valve would include their TOC for any event that would include things such as betting on their events etc.



This whole event has made me consider my actions, and although I have state earlier I don’t feel any particular regret in the faith that I placed these bets I do still feel some sadness to the unneeded attention that has brought to myself and the organisation/players that I have been working with. With this is mind today I donated a large portion of the profit from these bets to the “Child’s Play” charity so that if nothing else than something good may have come out of this being highlighted.



If anyone could provide me with a contact from Valve to discuss this with I would be grateful, I am not looking to run away from this subject, and indeed if this lands me in trouble then this is an unfortunate learning curve for many, but one I feel should be addressed.



Thanks for taking the time to read this all.



Allen



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