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These e-sports ventures, including an estimated 200 franchises, are expected to haul in nearly $900 million this year from sales of items such as match tickets, jerseys and online video ads, according to industry analyst SuperData Research.

Many new owners, including Tully, aren’t gamers. But the amount of time their children spend with video games triggered interest.

She partnered with a lawyer, a hedge fund manager, a business professor and an entrepreneur to buy a majority stake in British firm H2K Gaming Ltd., which also controls one of the 10 highest-level European "League of Legends" teams.

In December, [former NBA player Rick] Fox bought a “League of Legends” team with a business partner and several undisclosed minority shareholders. Their Echo Fox franchise has added teams that compete in five other games and signed a deal for a TV series.

Miller and 24 Hour Fitness founder Mark Mastrov brought in as NRG co-owners baseball star Alex Rodriguez to tutor players on dealing with competitive pressures and former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal to help build the franchise’s global appeal.

Last month, Riot Games ordered the sale of two big “League of Legends” teams and one minor league squad because owners violated rules designed to protect player welfare and competitive integrity.

Though owners called the rulings baseless, Riot e-sports director Whalen Rozelle said the company's 13 regional professional leagues worldwide provide “a vital foundation” on which teams can “confidently invest with expectations of stability.”

Furthering frustration is that new, well-financed teams such as “League of Legends” group Immortals, whose investors include Los Angeles venture capitalists and media executives, are amassing star-studded teams after awarding salaries in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Racking up wins has justified the strategy, while increasing calls for caps on salaries to maintain competition.

http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-esports-owners-20160526-snap-htmlstory.html