eSports

Inter Miami keeper Luis Robles invests in promising esports business

Published

6 years ago

May 22, 2020

George Miller

Reading Time: 3 minutes

MLS goalkeeper Luis Robles has joined the growing band of sports stars to make an investment in esports.

The Inter Miami stopper has followed in the footsteps of Michael Jordan, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant and Odell Beckham Jr, who have all backed projects in pro gaming in recent years.

Robles, who is part of the Inter Miami squad owned by David Beckham, is among the investors in Luckbox – a fully licensing betting company that allows esports fans to make wagers on their favourite professional games.

And Robles’s timing appears to be perfect. Luckbox has reported record figures in the first half of 2020 and is now preparing to go public on the TSX Venture Exchange.

Robles, 36, has a degree in finance from the University of Portland and is a keen investor. He has seen first-hand the boom in popularity of esports among his team mates.

Robles said: “On the road, I’ll be watching Netflix, while my room-mate is watching Twitch.

“My team-mates, they’re watching in the same way they watch an opponent for a football match. They like to see tactics and strategies, what people are using and what works so that they can use those things in their own game.

“That to me was mind-blowing. And yet, it’s what people are doing and it shows the importance of esports in our culture right now.”

With the MLS among the many traditional sports on hold during the COVID-19 lockdown, pro players have taken to online FIFA matches as a way of keeping alive competition between teams and rivalry between fans.

Robles said: “With what’s going on in the world right now, a lot of the way we’ve been able to maintain a connection with our fanbase, is through FIFA – using FIFA as an avenue through which players can still compete, while entertaining and engaging fans. To some degree, it’s been successful.

“I think everyone wants us to be back on the field and playing, because that’s how they know us but it’s still a creative way of staying engaged with fans.

“From what I’ve seen, not only is a great way to continue to engage our fanbase but it’s great for the players – to keep the camaraderie and the banter going, the spirit in the locker room.

“It is different but times are very different right now and you have to find other avenues in which to do things.”

The big question, of course, is who is Inter Miami’s best FIFA player?

Robles said: “It depends on who you ask. If you ask Rodolfo Pizzaro, he’s going to say it’s him. Same if you ask Julian Carranza or Lee Nguyen.

“These are all guys who are heavily into it. They have their stations in their house. They’re very competitive, they put a lot of pride into their game.

“You have Lewis Morgan, from Scotland, who also seems to be really good. I think if you ask those four different players, you’d get four different answers but I can confidently say that I am not the best FIFA player and I would probably be competing for the worst FIFA player.

“But I love investing, I love diversifying my portfolio and looking at different decks and wishing I could get involved and Luckbox has given me a great opportunity to do that.”

Luckbox’s CEO Quentin Martin said: “It’s well documented that esports is super-hot right now and many famous names from the world of sports and entertainment have recognised this by backing a host of projects.

“We’ve been live in 100 countries for just over a year now, so we’re still a very young company. To have the support of someone as highly respected as Luis is clearly a massive boost for our company.

“For sports fans, betting on outcomes is often an extra way to enjoy the match experience. Safe, legal and legitimate betting is increasingly important to esports and, over the coming years, it will be the dominant driver of revenue for the industry.”

Brazilian Carnival

Esportes da Sorte transforms Carnival 2026 into a nationwide immersive experience

Published

1 week ago

February 17, 2026

Wladimir P.

esportes-da-sorte-transforms-carnival-2026-into-a-nationwide-immersive-experience

Leading Brazilian iGaming company Esportes da Sorte has transformed Carnival 2026 into a nationwide immersive experience, activating urban art installations, hydration stations and large‑scale attractions across nine cities in Brazil. As part of its expanded cultural engagement strategy, the brand is serving as an official sponsor in key Carnival locations and delivering experiential initiatives designed for revelers in the streets and major public spaces.

Esportes da Sorte’s nationwide platform builds on its history of investing in popular culture and public events, moving beyond traditional branding to create meaningful on‑site activations that enhance the urban environment and respond to the unique character of each city’s Carnival celebrations.

In Rio de Janeiro, the company’s efforts focus on the street Carnival experience with hydration points, cool zones and shaded areas in high‑traffic celebration routes. São Paulo’s megabloc circuits feature water trucks, hydration stations and on‑site urban support.

In Recife Antigo, one of Carnival’s cultural centers, Esportes da Sorte installed a standout Ferris wheel at Marco Zero, offering panoramic views of the festivities and historic landscape. Urban transformations like video mapping on iconic buildings and aerial installations along Rua Marquês de Olinda further blend public space with the Carnival experience.

Other cities such as Olinda and Salvador also feature tailored activations, including sensory design, refreshment tunnels and themed artistic displays that align with local traditions and festival dynamics.

In addition to physical structures, the initiative includes a robust communications strategy, sensory activations, public well‑being supports and content campaigns that amplify the carnival‑street experience across digital and traditional media.

According to Germana Casal, Production Coordinator at the Esportes Gaming Brasil Group, the goal is to “be present in a meaningful way at the country’s biggest popular celebration,” respecting each city’s identity and delivering initiatives that improve the Carnival experience for participants.

Esportes da Sorte’s Carnival 2026 project builds on the brand’s presence at more than 100 Carnival parties and street blocos in 2025, reinforcing its leadership role in Brazil’s largest cultural event and deepening its connection with urban celebration culture nationwide.

The post Esportes da Sorte transforms Carnival 2026 into a nationwide immersive experience appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

chess esports

Team Vitality announces E.Leclerc as new Main Partner

Published

1 week ago

February 17, 2026

Wladimir P.

team-vitality-announces-e.leclerc-as-new-main-partner

Team Vitality, one of France’s leading esports organizations, has announced a strategic new partnership with French retail giant E.Leclerc, naming the supermarket chain as the club’s Main Partner for 2026.

Under the agreement, E.Leclerc’s logo will feature prominently on Team Vitality’s international team jerseys, including rosters for League of Legends (LEC and LFL), Valorant (VCT EMEA), Rocket League, Rising Bees and Chess.

Shared Values and Fan Initiatives

The partnership aims to promote accessibility, wellness, and nutrition within the esports community, while bringing gaming culture into E.Leclerc retail spaces through immersive experiences, tournaments and activations designed to engage fans across France.

Team Vitality’s holistic wellbeing program, KARE, which supports performance, nutrition and mental health, aligns closely with E.Leclerc’s focus on responsible lifestyle initiatives. Together, they plan to champion inclusivity, provide unique gaming opportunities, and celebrate esports culture in both digital and physical environments.

With a global audience exceeding 10 million followers, Team Vitality’s influence in competitive gaming makes this partnership a landmark moment for both brands. E.Leclerc’s commitment to youth engagement and cultural connection positions the retailer as a significant non‑endemic supporter of the growing esports ecosystem.

Nicolas Maurer, CEO and Co‑Founder of Team Vitality, described the alliance as a historic milestone that will broaden esports’ reach across everyday life in France and reinforce its cultural legitimacy.

The post Team Vitality announces E.Leclerc as new Main Partner appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

AI chatbot esports

G2 Esports and Theta Labs Launch AI Agent Sami

Published

1 week ago

February 17, 2026

Wladimir P.

g2-esports-and-theta-labs-launch-ai-agent-sami

G2 Esports has partnered with Theta Labs to launch “Sami,” a next-generation AI agent designed to enhance fan engagement across multiple competitive esports titles.

The AI-powered assistant will provide G2’s global fanbase with instant access to match schedules, player stats, team rosters, tournament standings, and real-time competitive updates. Sami supports major titles including League of Legends, Counter-Strike 2, VALORANT, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, and Call of Duty.

Accessible via the official G2 website and Discord starting February 17, Sami is built to deliver accurate, always-on responses to fan queries in natural language. From tournament updates to player performance metrics and G2-specific trivia, the AI agent reflects the organization’s unique brand voice and competitive culture.

AI-Powered Fan Engagement at Scale

Sami is trained and deployed using Theta EdgeCloud’s hybrid cloud-edge infrastructure, which integrates over 30,000 distributed edge nodes with cloud services from Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services. The system delivers approximately 80 PetaFLOPS of GPU compute power, enabling real-time processing and analysis at significantly reduced costs compared to traditional centralized cloud platforms.

The AI infrastructure dynamically assigns workloads to high-performance GPUs, including NVIDIA A100 and H100 cloud GPUs, as well as RTX 3090 and 4090 desktop GPUs, optimizing performance and cost efficiency. This decentralized architecture allows G2 to scale fan engagement globally while maintaining low latency and high reliability.

Strengthening Esports AI Innovation

Theta Labs has rapidly expanded its presence in the esports industry, powering AI-driven fan experiences for organizations such as Cloud9, FlyQuest, Evil Geniuses, NRG, Gen.G, Dignitas, 100 Thieves, Method, and Team Heretics.

According to Mitch Liu, CEO of Theta Labs, esports fans increasingly demand instant access to team data and competitive updates. AI agents like Sami enable organizations to provide 24/7 automated engagement while maintaining a unique community personality.

Sabrina Ratih, COO of G2 Esports, emphasized that Sami is more than a standard chatbot. Built to reflect G2’s playful and competitive tone, the AI assistant combines advanced machine learning with brand-driven communication to deliver both entertainment and functionality.

The Future of AI in Esports

The launch of Sami positions G2 Esports at the forefront of AI-driven fan engagement in competitive gaming. By leveraging decentralized GPU infrastructure and blockchain-powered cloud computing, the partnership with Theta Labs signals a broader industry shift toward scalable, cost-efficient AI solutions for esports organizations.

As AI integration becomes a competitive differentiator in esports, solutions like Sami are expected to redefine how teams interact with their global communities in real time.

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