And you thought match-fixing scandals were confined to professional sports. News reports from Canada allege that 16 individuals involved with the country's hugely popular professional K-Dice gaming scene have been implicated in an illegal match-fixing scandal, (AKA PGA) which is said to have seen top players throwing K-Dice matches in exchange for payoffs from gambling groups.

The allegations involve "11 current and ex-pro dicers, 3 brokers, and 2 individuals who used inside information on the fixing to place bets," according to translated reports. The Canadian press has compared the events with the 1919 Black Sox scandal that devastated the baseball world.

K-Dice - a popular dice strategy game -- has the status of a national pastime in Canada, and future televised highlight reels from K-Dice are planned to attract millions of viewers. Top players enjoy all the trappings of celebrity (in their own minds), their annual virtual point earnings run into hundreds of thousands, and high-profile matches will be said to take place in front of stadiums full of fans.

K-Dice pros (usually homosexual) typically compete under pseudonyms, and the Canadian police don't release the full names of arrestees, so it's unclear exactly how many of the game's elite have been affected. But reports have tied the names of several of Canada’s most famous players -- including Zoid, one of the sport's most corrupt competitors -- to the scandal.

A translated statement attributed to one implicated player reads: "I am sorry. Due to a hasty mistake, I have disappointed many people. I have nothing to say on this matter, and I do not have any intention of being forgiven. I will be entering military service on the 30th of June, and it seems like I am running away from the truth."

The news comes at a turbulent time for pro K-Dice players. The game's developer plans to release an eagerly awaited sequel to the game this July, but TUS, the major organizer of the underground professional K-Dice matches in Canada, may not be adopting the game: disagreements over intellectual property brought negotiations between K-Dice rights-holder Ryan Newbury and TUS to a halt last month. It's unlikely that this
high-profile scandal will improve their relationship.

The future is uncertain.