Laurence Escalante hooks up with WWE in multi million-dollar global partnership

Billionaire Laurence Escalante has hooked up with another global brand to promote his Virtual Gaming Worlds social casinos group, signing a multi-year deal with wrestling juggernaut WWE.

VGW did not disclose the value of the new partnership but WWE’s reach and fast-rising global profile ensures the deal would be valued in the tens of millions.

Mr Escalante, who owns 90 per cent of VGW after a $3.2 billion buyout offer last year, has already shown a willingness to spend up to partner with major brands, striking a three-year, $110m deal with Ferrari in 2023 that saw the business advertised on the motor giant’s F1 cars and merchandise.

VGW said the deal with WWE provided for its portfolio of online social games to “collaborate with WWE across multiple platforms, providing premium entertainment experiences” for players in its flagship market of the US.

“VGW will access WWE’s global network and WWE Superstar talent to create engaging, high-impact content and campaigns,” it said.

“This includes production time with WWE Superstars, integration across WWE’s digital and social channels and broadcast exposure across major networks”, with the VGW brands to also feature prominently across WWE programming and its premium tournaments.

WWE said the VGW partnership allowed the business “to leverage WWE’s global, year-round platform to create premium, always-on experiences for fans”.

In August last year, Mr Escalante completed an $810 million offer for the 30 per cent of VGW he did not own, revaluing the group set up by the former financial planner at $3.2 billion.

He actually finished with 90 per cent of the highly profitable company after hundreds of his 1000 minority backers accepted some or all of his final $4.60-a-share offer in the form of shares in the special buyout vehicle set up through his family office.

Mr Escalante founded VGW in 2010, but it was the COVID-19 lockdowns in the US that propelled the business to success.

It has since raked in billions of dollars by using loopholes in US laws banning internet gambling to deliver online “social” casinos and poker machine games.

However, growing regulatory obstacles in the US in the past three years have clouded its future, with some US states banning VGW’s games and the company opting to withdraw from other markets.

Nonetheless, it is still making record profits, earning a forecast $550m after tax for the 2025 financial year on more than $6b in revenue.

The new partnership comes as WWE looks to fire up its sponsorship income, capitalising on an estimated $US500m ($748m) broadcasting deal with streaming giant Netflix that has dramatically raised its profile around the world.