The Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) has signed a five-year, $40m deal with NIP Group, a company jointly run by Macau princeling Mario Ho, to develop esports, game publishing and other entertainment and event ventures.
The deal between the capital city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Nasdaq-listed digital entertainment and events specialist is set to significantly boost the UAE’s esports and gaming publishing profile, alongside budding land-based casino, lottery and online gaming operations.
Abu Dhabi will serve as the new global headquarters for NIP Group, which will work with the ADIO on a gaming and esports strategy, including the launch of an esports academy and developing “creative studios” in the emirate, the ADIO and NIP Group said in separate statements on Tuesday (January 21).
“ADIO’s collaboration with NIP Group reflects our shared ambition to lead in creative industries at the forefront of entertainment and technology,” ADIO director general Badr Al-Olama said.
“This marks a significant milestone in shaping a vibrant future for the esports and gaming sector in the region and beyond.”
Ho, the 30-year-old chairman and co-CEO of NIP Group, said the investment in Abu Dhabi will “empower a generation of professionals in the region” through the creation of jobs and “enhancing Abu Dhabi’s leadership in esports and gaming”.
Hicham Chahine, Ho’s co-CEO, said the company’s “truly global headquarters” in Abu Dhabi “represents not only our growth as a company but the growth of gaming and entertainment in the Middle East”.
Neither statement addressed the possibility of esports being included in regulated wagering activities under the watch of the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA).
However, of the GCGRA’s five types of gaming licences, internet gaming or sports wagering licences could cover esports, but these have yet to be awarded.
The UAE’s six licensees to date are Wynn Resorts’ Al Marjan Island integrated resort subsidiary, lottery monopoly The Game LLC and four suppliers.
The $40m deal between the ADIO and NIP Group points to rapid expansion in the UAE’s gaming ecosystem as the federal government and/or individual emirates vie for global hub status for esports, gaming, cryptocurrency trading and other digital initiatives.
NIP Group is the product of a 2023 merger between Swedish professional esports organisation Ninjas in Pyjamas and leading Chinese digital sports and mobile esports company ESV5, which itself merged Ho’s esports venture Victory Five and eStar Esports in 2021 to become China’s largest esports group.
NIP Group listed on the Nasdaq exchange in mid-2024, becoming China’s first esports stock and making Ho the youngest founder of an Asian Nasdaq listco.
Ho is the youngest son of the late Macau gambling patriarch Stanley Ho and industry powerhouse Angela Leong, his fourth long-term partner.
Ho is also president of the Macau E-Sports Federation, which he founded, and has campaigned for inclusion of esports facilities in hotels in Macau and mainland China.
As with his famed gambling industry siblings Pansy, Daisy and Lawrence, who between them control three of Macau’s six concessionaires, Mario Ho is a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a massive advisory apparatus for the Chinese Communist Party government.