eSports News by Content Engine AI

The market for esports is expanding and growing fast, but with it comes competitive pressure from the owners of existing sports teams. We reported recently that Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has said he will not purchase an esports team because it’s not a sound business plan, but now he’s expressing again his doubts about the multi-billion dollar esports industry.

While he still hopes to get involved in some capacity, Cuban tells Bloomberg that he wouldn’t consider being an owner of a professional esports team, because it would force him to fund other people’s businesses. That’s a big reason why he would not invest in the US esports scene: he would need to put money in someone else’s business that he may not be satisfied with.

“There’s just nobody that I know of that wants to do it that seriously,” he said. “To me, that’s awful business. You have one owner, and when you’re making this huge bet, that’s awful.”

Those comments were in response to an article on the Forbes Fortune 400 list (NBA superstar LeBron James leads the list), which said Cuban and other potential investment group members were weighing investments in the Overwatch League and its upcoming expansion Dallas Stars.

Cuban has had to rely on his interest in tech startups and other internet businesses to fund his organizations such as the Dallas Mavericks. He became an early investor in PayPal in 1998, spent a decade with American Airlines and later teamed up with former internet giant Yahoo! to form Broadcast.com, which AOL bought in 2006 for $750 million.

Cuban has invested in startup companies including LegalZoom, DeepMask, BitCircle, Kite.io, Adaptivo, Amigo Coins, Magnolia Pictures, the Dirk Nowitzki Sports Agency, Blue Star Media, and a handful of other startups.

An esports team could be tricky business, and would require a huge investment at a time when eSports are facing unprecedented competition. In that context, investing in an individual team might not seem like the best option.

Of course, Overwatch has really rocketed into the mainstream thanks to the backing of investors like Google, Intel, and the Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba, which merged their investments in the game with a team to form the Philadelphia Fusion last year. If the esports scene were to really take off, there’s a good chance many more investors would throw money at teams looking to add to their player rosters.

It seems like Cuban isn’t giving up on the idea of esports by any means, but he will keep his money only in areas where he can gain comfort as a business owner. This could mean continued investments in the internet-based startup market, possibly on the sports side, or perhaps focusing his attention on drones or autonomous vehicles.

via Forbes

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