In 2026, an Esports Charts analysis found that 9 of the 10 top Counter-Strike teams in the Americas had betting, crypto-casino, or poker platforms as their primary jersey sponsors. A good example is Team Vitality's multi-year, seven-figure partnership with a crypto-casino brand last July. The deal included jersey placement, social media campaigns, content production, and player access.
Casinos have always looked to sponsor sports teams. The most prominent ones go as far as partnering with entire leagues. For instance, ToonieBet holds an exclusive iGaming partnership with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, a multi-year agreement with the Canadian Football League that included the 112th Grey Cup, and deals with the Ottawa Senators, Rock League Curling and the NLL's Oshawa FireWolves. That spread across traditional sport is the model esports sponsorships are borrowing from.
The esports betting scene is no different and online casinos are spending millions on professional teams. But is there more to these deals besides advertising? Let’s find out exactly what both parties get from it.
Reasons Online Casinos Sponsor Esports Teams
Research also revealed that over 90% of esports bettors had previously watched an esports event. Sponsoring an esports team therefore gives these companies direct access to a concentrated and highly engaged target audience. Betting companies can promote their brands through jerseys, livestreams, social media, content, and fan activities.
Overall, they get:
● Direct access to a large, highly engaged global audience
● Stronger association between esports and their betting products
● New customer acquisition
● Social-media and content opportunities
● Potential increase in revenue and customer value
Benefits to Esports Teams
Increased financial revenue
Sponsorship agreements provide esports teams with an additional source of income that can be used to cover operating costs, player salaries, and tournament expenses. Larger gambling sponsorships often provide teams with substantial multi-year financial commitments. An insider reported that brands offer over $1 million for a one-year arrangement. The additional income lets teams invest in coaching and support staff, potentially improving their competitive performance.
Funding for player salaries and talent
Sponsorship revenue can help teams attract and retain high-quality players. Competitive esports organizations need to offer competitive salaries and benefits to prevent their best players from moving to rival teams. Sponsorship money can underwrite salaries where a sponsor wants a specific player associated with the brand.
Increased brand exposure
Gambling companies can bring considerable marketing resources and audiences to their esports partners. Sponsorship often increases the visibility of a team through branded campaigns, social media promotions, advertisements, and joint content.
For example, after renewing their partnership for 2024, GG.BET and NAVI said their previous year's activities attracted millions of views. Fans followed interviews, quizzes, and recap content. Team Vitality also claimed a meet-and-greet event reached over 3.5 million people. While this brings some huge visibility to the gambling company, it also helps the team generate more revenue.
The Challenges of Casino-Esports Sponsorships
As valuable as they are, these partnerships also create significant ethical, regulatory, and commercial challenges.
Exposure of minors to gambling
One of the biggest ethical concerns is the large number of young people who follow esports. Canadian research involving adolescents has specifically examined esports betting and found concerns about young people's exposure to gambling.
Risk of problem gambling
Gambling sponsorships may contribute to gambling-related harm among vulnerable fans. Research on adolescent esports betting has found relationships between esports betting and at-risk/problem gambling. A PLOS One study specifically examined adolescents who bet on esports using cash or skins and highlighted the accessibility of esports betting to young people.
Support services exist in every Canadian province for anyone whose gambling stops feeling under control; in Ontario, ConnexOntario runs a free 24/7 helpline.
Restrictions on advertising to minors
Let’s consider a vast market like Canada. Regulators have specifically addressed the problem of gambling advertisements reaching young people. However, Canada does not have one universal gambling age. The legal age varies by province or territory, generally 18 or 19 depending on the jurisdiction and type of gambling. This creates difficulties for international esports teams because a single campaign may reach fans across several Canadian provinces with different rules.
For example, Alberta's rules prohibit gaming advertising that may appeal to people under 18. A jersey sponsorship visible to a global audience has no practical way of respecting that boundary province by province, which is the core tension in these deals.
Provincial over federal regulation
Gambling regulation can change quickly, creating uncertainty for long-term sponsorship contracts. An example is Canada's 2021 reform. The federal government changed the Criminal Code in 2021 to allow provinces and territories to conduct or manage single-event sports betting, but individual jurisdictions determine how gambling is offered and regulated.
Competitive integrity and match-fixing
Gambling sponsorship creates concerns about the integrity of esports competitions. Players, coaches, and team staff may have access to information that could influence betting markets, while individuals involved in competitions could potentially manipulate matches or events for financial gain.
Are Casino-Esports Sponsorships Sustainable?
The esports betting market is set to reach $6.7 billion by 2028. Any brand that wants to get a slice of the potential revenue needs to engage with esports fans. Currently, the ideal way to do that is by sponsoring esports teams.
On the other side of the equation, pro teams have little choice but to accept these deals. Reports suggest that most esports organizations are not profitable, and even the best teams only recently started turning a profit.
The economics point one way and the regulatory pressure points the other. Sponsorship money is currently holding up a sector that has not found another way to fund itself, which makes the arrangement stable for now and fragile in the medium term.