In February, BLAST announced that Polymarket would be its brand new prediction partner for Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2 events, penning one of the first major prediction market sponsorships in esports. Fast-forward a month, and fans and viewers of the BLAST Open Rotterdam 2026 are up in arms about the partnership.
Their key complaint: Polymarket, and prediction markets as a whole, are corrupting the integrity of esports. With markets including “Will a player break something during a game” and “Will the winning team drop the trophy” seemingly skewed heavily to incentivise insider trading (A player could easily manipulate these markets to force a result), tournament viewers are rightfully concerned.
Read More: BLAST announce Polymarket as their official prediction market partner
With this and other grievances on their mind, Counter-Strike esports fans have taken to Reddit and social media, and their message is simple: They want Polymarket out. But how tangible are their grievances? And can prediction markets win back the confidence of esports fans after a rocky launch to their sponsorship?
Trophy lifts and peripherals breaking are now subject to prediction markets. Image Credit: Vitality
Across multiple posts on Reddit, Counter-Strike fans are airing their displeasure at BLAST’s Polymarket sponsorship, its effect on the broadcast, and potential for wrongdoing. In a post deleted by r/globloffensive, and reposted in r/counterstrike2 user Spir0rion points to the fact many of the predictions are “entirely in the players hands”:
“’A player will break equipment,’ ‘The winning team will drop the trophy.’ In theory players could actively bet on something happening and then just do it. This can compromises [sic] the integrity of the scene massively.
Will players do it? Maybe not, unlikely you can even say. But the mere possibility of a gambling site having that power over the scene is concerning.”
Other users pointed to just how much Polymarket was being pushed on broadcast. U/Jerk_offlane complained about the ubiquitous promotion:
“I get that events need sponsors and I usually don’t mind too much when it’s just a logo here or there. But constantly bringing up Polymarket and how you can gamble on everything – “lmaaooo so cool you could’ve won money on YEKINDAR breaking his mouse” – is just disgusting to me. And it’s not just standalone segments that you can mute or turn off either. It’s getting completely integrated into the commentary and the desks as well. You really can’t escape it.”
Finally, others have pointed to the ethical considerations of Polymarket, versus conventional sports and esports gambling. U/viacrucisxll pointed to Polymarket’s markets on warfare and politics as a pain point in a post just earlier this morning (March 25):
“Valve is associating themselves with a company that literally allows people to gamble on who will be bombed next.. .. in real life. Yes, you can gamble on who you think will be next to die.”
At the time of writing, Polymarket has an entire section for the Iran conflict, including prediction markets on the dates of direct military strikes and invasions. All in all, the complaints read like the fanbase is very discontent. Very few replies defend Polymarket and BLAST, despite some pointing to other instances of gambling sponsors.
With just these three points (the ethical concerns, effect on the broadcast, and potential for insider trading), the criticism seems bad enough. But this integration with BLAST happens against the backdrop of perhaps some of the most egregious alleged insider trading of all time. Since the United States’ war with Iran started earlier in March, multiple instances of seemingly insider trading have occurred. The most recent allegations suggest that insiders knew ahead of time about US president Donald Trump’s “productive talks” speech and purchased oil and S&P 500 futures.
BLAST Rotterdam has become ground-zero for the conflict between fans and prediction markets. Image Credit: BLAST.tv
With this fresh in and front of mind with esports fans, they can’t be faulted for looking at the potential for insider trading in Polymarket and being disgruntled.
The defense of the prediction market sponsors is also limited. While most agree that gambling sponsors are now a necessary part of esports, and are used to, if not comfortable with teams and tournaments sponsored by gambling sites and providers, prediction markets seem a step too far for many. Perhaps the lack of regulation and newness of these sites is a detraction, compounded by the valid critiques mentioned above.
To get around these issues, prediction markets and the tournaments and esports organizations they sponsor are going to have to tread lightly. BLAST Open Rotterdam 2026 has been a baptism of fire, and clearly the weight of advertisement and the content of these bets is causing concern.
Polymarket could look to one of its major competitors, Kalshi, as an example of how to assuage worries. Just two days ago, Kalshi announced new methods to block athletes and politicians from the platform to prevent insider trading. For esports fans, knowing its players couldn’t manipulate the predictions could be enough.
But bans aren’t a be-all and end-all. Consider the fact that despite a blanket ban on gambling in the National Basketball Association, 2025 saw a major scandal involving current and former players. Esports players are already prohibited from match-fixing, betting, etc. through the rules of the tournaments they compete in.
As a result, there’s just no easy answer. If esports wants to continue attracting prediction market sponsors, it will have to appease an intelligent and savvy fan base that understands the risks. In the past, the best method has been to wait out the turbulence and see opinions shift. A decade ago, gambling sponsors were unthinkable. Five years ago, entire fanbases rebelled against Saudi Arabian investment and ownership. Time will likely dull most grievances.
Stick with Jaxon for more CS2 and prediction market insights and news.
Featured Image Credit: BLAST.tv
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