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Celebrities Investing in eSports Betting

Lillie Mcguire
Posted on March 04, 2021 at 2:03am

The rise in popularity of eSports betting is intrinsically linked to the exponential growth of the industry. And there are quite a few famous people that saw this coming and got in while the going was good.

eSports appeal as an investment project is largely due to the huge potential for profit it holds. Its development is continuing apace, and experts predict that will be worth almost CA$2 billion by 2023 and register viewership of roughly 700 million people.

The Actors and Musicians in the Game

NBA legend Michael Jordan got involved in the eSports betting industry back in 2018, just one year after Ronaldo invested in the CNB eSports Club, one of the biggest organizations in the South American market. Guild eSports made headlines in 2020 when it launched with Soccer superstar David Beckham in the role of co-owner and Drake, a prominent figure in music, has invested in two teams.

Actor Will Smith headed up an investment group that put almost CA$60 million into Gen.G Esports, an organization connecting the United States and Asia, and sports betting Canada superstar Mike Tyson put money into Fade 2 Karma, a professional eSports and Gaming Entertainment company. The Golden State Warriors’ Steph Curry was involved in the almost CA$50 million that TSM, an eSports team, received in 2018. Teams like this are also starting to make their presence felt at first-rate sportsbooks like Rabona.

Veteran NBA player and current sports analyst Shaquille O’Neal and NRG eSports are enmeshed, with the firm having rosters that span games like Apex Legends, Overwatch, CoD, Hearthstone, and Fortnite, a favourite with eSports betting fans. Fellow player and darling of sports betting Canada fans Kevin Durant has a Vision Esports stake and Zlatan Ibrahimović has seen fit to finance Challengermode, a tournament platform.

The Future of eSports

What’s in store for this industry? Well, how subject it is to change is proving a difficulty for its players and, no doubt, a headache for its investors.

Traditional athletes train for years in their chosen field with the intention of creating a long career within it. And, once they’re done doing their thing on the field, court, or pitch, support roles become available like managing and training. But eSports betting is known for its volatility, as is the market itself. What good is it to become very proficient in a game that may not last for very long?

It’s difficult to predict what’s going to happen next, but one thing is certain. These celebrities made a great call with their investments.