President Knabe introduces controversial sponsor for his team in LoL, blames 33-year-old player for everything

The eSports team Eintracht Spandau, active in the German league for League of Legends, held a press conference for the upcoming season and simultaneously introduced their new main sponsor. However, President Knabe (HandofBlood) made a serious mistake.

Who is the new main sponsor? At a press conference, Eintracht Spandau introduced their new main sponsor: Spin2Win, an online casino. Due to newly relaxed gambling regulations at Riot Games regarding gambling sponsors, Eintracht Spandau can now receive money from new sponsors.

Thus, Spin2Win would support the eSports team throughout the new season, and thanks to their support, new financial opportunities have opened up for the team.

Present at the press conference were team representative Daniel Broekmann, Ms. Strobel, Kevin Westphal, and of course, President Knabe.

HandOfBlood has already become the German champion with his eSports team:

HandOfBlood wanted to change e-sports with his LoL team, now he is finally the German champion

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Controversial main sponsor stirs up unrest

How did they address criticism? Eintracht Spandau also addressed critical questions. Regarding the risks of gambling, they stated that the responsibility lies with the consumer. A position also held by the German Twitch streamer MontanaBlack in 2022, when he was accused by ZDF Magazin Royale of promoting gambling through FIFA Packs.

The team has no concerns regarding the underage target audience exposed to this gambling advertising. After all, a loot box system has been specifically set up for children, which they can engage with instead. Broekmann added that he doesn’t have children, so he does not care.

In response to the criticism that loot boxes also qualify as gambling, President Knabe indignantly replied that, according to law, they do not.

After all, the mechanics only take place in the game and no one can cash out money. This has been regulated by the EU. This reminds one of a statement by Electronic Arts from 2019, stating that loot boxes are “ethically right surprise mechanics”, similar to Kinder Eggs.

Then came the twist: Through a critical inquiry, it suddenly became clear at the press conference that the new regulation only applies to LEC teams, but not to the Prime League, for example. Thus, Eintracht Spandau is also excluded from this opportunity.

Daniel Broekmann (33) apparently knew about this all along, which provoked a strong emotional reaction from President Knabe.

In his eyes, Daniel Broekmann is to blame for everything. Previously, he had already described playing with him in the first league as “real gambling” because “you might as well flip a coin.”

The press conference was abruptly canceled, and President Knabe left the room visibly upset.

Here you can watch the entire video:

Parody with a serious background

What is behind it? This is, of course, a parody. Satirically, Eintracht Spandau wants to draw attention to a real problem in the eSports scene. HandOfBlood has hidden many allusions and gags in his role as President Knabe:

Simply “Spin2Win” is a reference to the LoL-champ Garen, whose unofficial description includes “Spin2Win” – while the slogan could also fit a casino.
Knabe points out that Spin2Win has outbid other sponsors like Nestlé and Shell – those would also be extremely controversial sponsors.
In gambling, Valve is cited as an example: In the eSports of Counter-Strike, such casino deals are actually commonplace, although controversial. The whole game is characterized by casino elements.

Riot Games announced at the end of 2024 that they would relax their regulations regarding gambling sponsors. It will be allowed to have betting companies as sponsors from 2025, but only those that are approved by Riot.

Previously, Riot had actively opposed this, but has now decided to go ahead with it. As a justification, Riot stated that they wanted to create new opportunities for eSports teams.

This decision was criticized by Eintracht Spandau with the video. Even though Riot’s sponsors must first be approved, this is still a controversial development.

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