ECSTATIC has secured a new partnership with online gambling blocking application Gamban as it looks to highlight the onslaught of gambling sponsorships in esports.
In an official release, the Danish esports organisation has called this new sponsorship ‘groundbreaking’ and envisages that the Counter-Strike 2 deal will ‘support those struggling with gambling’.
ECSTATIC’s partnership with Gamban marks the first time an esports team has had an anti-gambling company as its main sponsor. The organisation noted that two-thirds of the top 31 European esports organisations have betting sponsors and over 80% of the top 50 Counter-Strike 2 teams have gambling operators as sponsors.
“Offshore gambling operators frequently lack age checks and robust self-exclusion, leaving vulnerable fans, especially young people, exposed with no meaningful safety net,” ECSTATIC stated.
“While gambling money pours in, no sponsorships until now have put player welfare first.”
As part of the Gamban sponsorship, ECSTATIC is going to launch a community-focused Discord with anonymous peer groups, expert talks, and tools for those looking to fight gambling addiction. This is part of the organisation’s goal of making it easier to get help, ‘especially for young fans who feel out of place in traditional support groups’.
“This is personal for me,” said ECSTATIC co-owner Oliver ‘zipeL’ Behrensdorff. “I’ve had periods of problem gambling myself, and installing Gamban was my first step toward change. We’re not here to high-road anyone. We’re here to offer a lifeline to those who need one.”
Gamban co-founder Matt Zarb-Cousin added that the company hopes this will become a jumping-off point for other companies to invest in esports without ‘exploiting addiction’.
ECSTATIC’s History
ECSTATIC is a Danish-owned esports organisation owned by zipeL and Jepee ‘sneppen’ Jensen. Its Counter-Strike 2 team was ranked 31st in Valve’s September Global VRS standings.
The fairly new organisation has been competing in CS2 since 2021. By 2024, it reached the Top 12 in the PGL Copenhagen Major.
Recently, ECSTATIC became one of the first teams eliminated from the BLAST Open London qualifiers, unable to make it out of the Group Stage. One of the teams to defeat them was FaZe Clan, an organisation that’s very well-known for its involvement with online gambling sponsorships, including Rollbit and DraftKings.
After the frustrating outcome, ECSTATIC had a few roster moves and recently fought for a spot in the Thunderpick World Championships.
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