Virtus.Pro buys majority of CSGO Lounge website
In a sudden twist of events, Russian pro team Virtus.Pro now reportedly owns most of the website CSGO Lounge, as its parent company recently made the deal despite Valve’s recent trouble.
ESForce Holdings, which acquired the majority of the Virtus Pro brand towards the end of 2015 and also owns the media rights to Eastern European giants Na`Vi, allegedly owns as much as 90 percent of the betting site. It has yet to disclose its relationship to the public.
The revelations may strain the Virtus pro brand’s’ reputation with the game’s developer. Following the match-fixing scandal of 2014, where four North American players admitted to throwing a match for skins, Valve released a set of guidelines any player, team and organization would have to comply with in to participate in a Valve-sponsored event.
The company’s documents of ownership, obtained by the Esports Observer, clearly show that ESForce Holding, a sub-company of Russian-Kazakh billionaire Alisher Usmanov’s USM Holding, are the majority owners of the site. Additionally, ESForce Holding also own the majority of broadcasting studios in the region, as well as 180 websites and a major tournament within the region. Alisher Usmanov, who also co-owns London-based soccer team Arsenal, entered esports at the end of 2015 by investing $100 million into the Virtus pro brand.
