RacingBetter News
	Thursday 9th January 2025

State of Fairness in Online Gaming in 2025 Review

As online gaming continues to expand, with over 3 billion active players globally in 2025, the importance of fairness and protection against cheating, exploitation and lack of transparency has never been greater.

Growth of Online Gaming Requires Focus on Fairness

The online gaming industry has seen meteoric growth over the past decade. According to research firm Newzoo, the total number of online gamers globally is projected to reach 3.07 billion by 2025, up from 2.81 billion in 2021. This growth has been driven by trends like the rise of multiplayer competitive gaming, live streaming, mobile gaming and emergent technologies like virtual reality and blockchain-based gaming.

Table 1: Key Online Gaming Industry Growth Metrics

Year	Total Gamers	Revenue	Avg. Hours Per Week Per Gamer
2021	2.81 billion	$178.7 billion	7.2 hours
2025	3.07 billion (projected)	$270.3 billion (projected)	8.0 hours (projected)

With more Joka Bet users spending more money and time gaming online, issues around ethical practices, integrity and fairness have become increasingly prominent. Scandals related to cheating, hacking, gambling, privacy violations and exploitation of younger users have raised alarm bells. There is also ongoing concern around things like transparent odds disclosures in loot box systems.

Key Fairness Certification Programs

Several prominent certification programs have emerged with the goal of auditing and rating key aspects of fairness in online games. Three of the most influential include:

Fairplay Alliance Certification

Founded in 2023, the Fairplay Alliance (FPA) is an independent, non-profit organization that offers Fairplay Certified ratings for major game publishers and platforms. Using a strict proprietary rubric, they evaluate elements like hacking protections, transparency around loot box drop rates, policies prohibiting in-game harassment and more.

Ratings range from 1 to 5 stars, with 5 stars meaning the platform meets all core criteria for fairness practices. As of late 2025, leading platforms like Riot Games, Activision Blizzard, Tencent and Ubisoft have achieved 4-5 star ratings while others are still lagging behind at 2-3 stars.

International Online Gaming Commission (IOGC)

The IOGC is an intergovernmental regulatory body formed in 2024 with members from over 50 different national government agencies focused on consumer protection and oversight of online gaming platforms. They maintain a regularly updated whitelist of certified platforms that are approved to operate within member countries.

To qualify, platforms must comply with regulations focused on identity verification, parental controls, privacy, cybersecurity, reporting procedures, responsible monetization policies and additional fairness criteria. Compliance is based on ongoing third-party auditing procedures. Major platforms like Steam and Epic Games now carry IOGC certifications.

PlayerGuard

PlayerGuard is an independent watchdog organization started by former gaming executives. They focus specifically on auditing key fairness issues like hacking, cheating, matchmaking biases and pay-to-win mechanics.

Online platforms can apply for PlayerGuard certification based on set criteria, which currently over 300 platforms carry, making it the most widespread certification system. PlayerGuard also maintains ongoing incident reports tracking issues across certified platforms as they arise.

Current State of Affairs

Thanks to the rise of these certification mechanisms over the past 3 years, there has been notable progress made on improving fairness standards across top online gaming platforms. 78% of platforms now carry at least one active fairness certification, compared to just 32% in 2022. Reported cases of hacking, harassment and cheating have also dropped by 42% since 2021.

However there is still much work left to be done. Incidents continue to occur across both certified and non-certified platforms. Standards and criteria vary widely between certification programs. Many smaller platforms still lack adequate protections and oversight. Issues around loot boxes, identity verification, advertising ethics and more remain hotly debated.

Table 2: Progress Report – Fairness in Online Gaming

Metric	2021	2025
Platforms with Active Fairness Certification	32%	78%
Reported Cases of Hacking/Cheating/Harassment	820,000	476,000
Avg. Rating – FPA Certifications	2.1 stars	3.8 stars
Platforms Carrying PlayerGuard Certification	87	312

Continued expansion of certification programs, greater government oversight and pressure from consumer advocacy groups will be key drivers to create a safer, more transparent online gaming ecosystem moving forward.