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eSports Saves Bear Cubs and Supports Charities Worldwide
By Shane Addinall Dec 18, 2020 EntertainmentThe story of an eSports team adopting an endangered bear cub piqued our interest in the charitable side of this burgeoning market. We discovered an astounding wealth of charitable support and interest the deeper we looked.The idea that with “great power comes great responsibility” is one that has been echoed throughout our history, even if it did take Stan Lee to immortalise the principle in a Spider-Man graphic novel.
In modern times it could be rephrased as with “great income comes great responsibility”. In the online gambling arena, we see operators donating to local charities, supporting youth sports and funding campaigns aimed at educating players on safer gambling.
One Needy Little Bear
In terms of revenue generation, one of the booming niches is without a doubt eSports. With prize pools worth millions of dollars and Euros up for grabs this competitive gaming scene is growing in popularity with sports bettors and has made some gamers extremely wealthy.
Thankfully, for orphaned Asian black bear cub Alladin, the eSports team Virtus Pro are using their influence for good.
CEO of Virtus Pro, Sergey Glamazda, said:
“Apart from their main function of saving the population of rare and endangered species, zoos also help the animals harmed in the wildlife. We initiate and support charity campaigns on a regular basis and this time we decided to pay attention to the animal's problems by taking into care our club’s mascot — a bear.”
When the team heard the story of how an orphaned Asian black bear cub had to be transferred to the Moscow zoon to allow him the chance to grow to maturity, they jumped at the chance to help cover the costs.
Reports claim that there are less than 50,000 Asiatic black bears in the world. Thanks to the generosity of Virtus Pro and the people on the ground at the Moscow zoo hopefully Alladin will help bolster that number in the near future.
eSports Has a Heart of Gold
As anyone who watches streaming platforms like Twitch will now it is not unheard of for popular gamers to host charity streams. During these events, which can last up to 24 hours, the donations and tips generated all go towards supporting a specific charitable organisation.
However, The Guardian claims that it could be far more impactful than we realise, going so far as to call it the “forefront of 21st-century philanthropy”.
Their report states that Twitch, the live streaming platform used by most gaming influencers, reportedly raised more than $200 million since its inception, with 25% of that figure being raised last year alone!
Twitch charity manager, Alyssa Sweetman, said:
“There is no end to what is possible when the creativity of streamers and their community of viewers come together. It’s a success that can’t be replicated elsewhere.”
This ramping up of support for charity from the gaming sector is echoed by Michael Wasserman, CEO of Tiltify:
“We’ve seen record increases in donations since March. Some months it’s been 600% or 700% up on the same period as last year.”
Tiltify is a fundraising payment platform that serves the live streaming community by allowing influencer and gamers to easily receive donations and then send them to the charity they were promoting.
Being Kind is Child's Play
A long-running gaming charity is Child's Play. In 2003 the creators of gaming industry webcomic, Penny Arcade, challenged their community to donate to the Seattle Children’s Hospital via an Amazon wishlist. This challenge saw them raise $250,000 and spawned Childs Play as we know it today.
“A lot of people are surprised to find out how much money it [gaming] raises, but this is the future of fundraising.” - Shay Thompson, co-host of Gaming for Good
In the fifteen years that Child's Play has been in operation, the organisation has raised more than $46 million which has been donated to 180 children’s hospitals and 200 Domestic Violence shelters worldwide.
As the gaming and live streaming niche continues to grow and mature it will be interesting to see what new and exciting projects are undertaken to support the less fortunate - be they adult, child or furry friend.
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