European esports organisation G2 Esports has announced a partnership with Asian gambling company M88 Mansion. As a result, M88 Mansion will become G2 Esports’ official betting partner for its Counter-Strike and Dota 2 teams.
G2 Esports also announced a Rocket League-focused partnership with grassroots esports platform Stride. Terms were not disclosed for either deal.
G2 Esports’ partnership with M88 Mansion will utilise G2’s Counter-Strike and Dota 2 rosters to highlight the M88 brand through a range of activations, watch parties, and competitions for fans of the organisation. Specific details on the activations were not disclosed.
M88 Mansion is a Philippines-based online gambling and betting site. In January 2023, the site partnered with Vietnamese esports organisation 335CauGlay with the goal of further increasing the organisation’s digital presence. In 2022, M88 Mansion also partnered with Talon Esports, becoming the main title sponsor of its Dota 2 team.
M88 Mansion appears to have replaced Counter-Strike skin gambling and trading platform CSGORoll as G2 Esports’ gambling-related partner. G2 partnered with CSGORoll in May 2023, but the partnership sparked community criticism. By August 2023, G2 appeared to have quietly removed CSGORoll as a partner, having deleted announcement posts and removed mentions of CSGORoll as a partner.
Additionally, G2 Esports announced a partnership with tournament and grassroots esports platform Stride on December 7th. Focused on Rocket League, G2 said the deal with Stride would ‘support all levels of Rocket League esports, from amateur to pro’.
The Stride partnership includes a Stride-branded in-game car decal, as well as jersey placement on the G2’s Rocket League jerseys. Collaborative branding will feature on both G2 Rocket League and Stride social media channels. The organisation’s Rocket League roster is also being referred to as ‘G2 Stride’.
The partnerships come as G2 Esports continues to expand outside of Europe. Earlier today, G2 announced its expansion into China and Dota 2 through a partnership with Chinese esports organisation Invictus Gaming. Moreover, on December 5th, G2 struck a ‘strategic partnership’ with Version1’s ownership group to acquire a North American franchise team in the Call of Duty League.
G2 Esports has an extensive partnership portfolio of over 16 partners. M88 Mansion and Stride join the likes of payment giant Mastercard, fashion company Ralph Lauren and alcohol brand Jägermeister in G2’s roster of partners.
