In Macau, the Grand Lisboa Hotel of local casino operator SJM Holdings Limited reportedly served as the main sponsor for a three-day offline e-Sports tournament that featured nine teams battling it out for a portion of a $300,000 prize pool.

According to a report from GGRAsia, the MDL Macau Dota2 International Elite Invitational took place over the weekend at the University of Macau and was marketed as ‘the first international e-Sports competition held in Macau’.

Hong Kong-listed SJM Holdings Limited is responsible for some 20 casinos in Macau including the Grand Lisboa Casino inside its Grand Lisboa Hotel along with the nearby Emperor Palace Casino and Babylon Casino and reportedly revealed that National Basketball Association (NBA) star Jeremy Lin had attended the recent e-Sports event.

Ambrose So Shu Fai, Chief Executive Officer for SJM Holdings Limited, reportedly called e-Sports ‘an emerging industry with huge growth potential and global viewership’ that has been ‘formally recognized by China as an official sports program’. He purportedly also declared that the sector ‘has seen rapid growth in recent years’ while the tournament would ‘further benefit the development of the city’s tourism and leisure business’.

GGRAsia reported that fellow Macau-based casino operator Galaxy Entertainment Group Limited hosted an e-Sports tournament at its Broadway Macau in late-August while early-September saw Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited organize the GirlGamer 2017 Esports Festival at its Studio City Macau property.