Nadeshot has responded to backlash over his Roobet casino sponsorship coinciding with 100 Thieves layoffs, explaining the clash in timing was unintentional.
Matthew "Nadeshot" Haag has come forward to explain why his new casino sponsor Roobet was revealed on the same day news broke of 100T layoffs. In a video post, Nadeshot explained it was not deliberate and he was unaware the two things would clash.
Nadeshot posted a Kick sponsorship announcement video with online casino/sports-betting platform Roobet on social media on Sept. 5 while in Mexico. Yet, the announcement got a cold reception due to its connection to gambling and also its seemingly insensitive timing.
Roobet is an online crypto-first gambling platform founded in 2014 that has been endorsed by the likes of rapper Snoop Dogg. It also teamed up with esports organization Astralis from 2022-2024 as part of a sponsorship deal.
Nadeshot unaware of 100T layoffs
Nadeshot started off by clarifying that he has not been the CEO of 100 Thieves for nearly two years, and he is no longer involved in the day-to-day running of the esports and lifestyle brand. The former Call of Duty pro said his interactions with the executive team are limited to around four board meetings a year.
According to Nadeshot, the first he heard of the confirmed layoffs was Sept. 5, one day after he had arrived in Mexico, and the same day the affected employees were to be notified. The 33-year-old added that there had been a mention of potential layoffs being required in his last board meeting in July, but nothing had been finalised.
"In the rounds of layoffs we've had to do in the past when I was at the helm of 100 Thieves. I don't enjoy that, I take no pride in that. It's probably the worst thing I've been a part of in my career."
Nadeshot went on to say he hoped the individuals affected by the new round of layoffs would find a safe place and land on their feet.
"That would be a pretty ballsy call for me, to be like 'hey you know what, i know we're doing these layoffs here but f**k it, we're going live with Roobet' but woah, I had no idea," said Nadeshot in his video post.
Related articles
Roobet stream timing due to family trip
Nadeshot explained his trip to Mexico to do the first Roobet stream was planned by his wife who is 37 weeks pregnant.
"She has planned my trips to Mexico for the Roobet streams, for September, October, November, December and January. She's the planner in this group," said Nadeshot.
"My Roobet stream had been on the calendar for weeks and weeks and weeks. A terrible situation, a terrible turn of events, but that's what happened with the layoffs, 100 Thieves and Roobet."
Nadeshot on the morality of gambling on stream
Nadeshot closed his video by addressing criticism that his gambling sponsor Roobet could be a bad influence on his young and impressionable audience.
"If I was named Nickeh30, and I'm doing Fortnite fashion shows or I'm hide-n-seeking in this YouTube video and all of a sudden when they come find me I'm hiding in a casino and I'm like 'hey kids, now that you're here let's gamble!'"
He explained that his audience is not as young as people imagine, and to illustrate his point, Nadeshot shared statistics from his YouTube streams about his audience demographic:
- 59% - 25 to 34 year olds
- 19% - 35 to 44 years old
- 5% - 45 to 54 years old
Nadeshot added that 13-17 year-olds represented just 0.2% of his audience.
"Guys you act like I make Roblox, Minecraft and Fortnite videos. [...] Accross all forms of major forms of entertainment and media, gambling advertising happens," said Nadeshot. He went to say that Drake, xQc, Trainwrecks were also all engaged in the same type of content.
"I feel like I just spawned in and I'm the first one to ever do a gambling deal."
Nadeshot closed by saying he got "got offered an ungodly amount of money" to indulge in an existing occasional past-time of his by Roobet. However, he reaffirmed that the clash with the 100 Thieves layoff was unintentional.
