Boston / Hong Kong – August 28, 2025. The NBA’s Boston Celtics, valued at US$6.1 billion, have a new name on their ownership roster: Mario Ho Yau-kwan, the youngest son of Macau casino magnate Stanley Ho. Ho joins as co-owner and board member, part of an investment group led by private equity executive Bill Chisholm, who will serve as the team’s new Governor. The deal received full approval from the NBA Board of Governors.
Other key investors include steel magnate Aditya Mittal (with a reported US$1 billion stake), financier Bruce Beal, long-time Celtics executive Wyc Grousbeck (continuing as CEO/Alternate Governor), and institutional powerhouse Sixth Street. Together, they signal a reshaped ownership era for one of the league’s most storied franchises.
For Mario Ho, the Celtics move dovetails with his expanding footprint in gaming and tourism. Earlier this month, his Nasdaq-listed NIP Group—the first U.S.-listed Chinese esports operator—announced the acquisition of Beijing Huanju, signaling ambitions to merge esports, entertainment, and tourism platforms across Asia. According to Mundo Video, Ho is targeting tourism transformation projects with crossover potential into integrated resorts and entertainment complexes.
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Industry analysts suggest his NBA role could serve as a strategic springboard into the U.S. sports betting market, particularly as state-by-state regulation continues to expand. While Ho has not disclosed his Celtics equity contribution, his presence in the ownership group provides access to the U.S. sports ecosystem at a time when sportsbooks are driving record sponsorship revenues, with American betting operators posting over US$120 billion in handle in 2024.
Ho himself described the Celtics role as the realization of a lifelong dream, but the timing aligns with the global pivot of casino and esports executives into regulated U.S. betting. As Europe tightens advertising rules and Asia pushes integrated resorts, the United States represents the most attractive frontier for sports wagering growth.
With one foot in the NBA boardroom and another in Asia’s gaming industry, Mario Ho appears poised to bridge two worlds—turning Celtics green into a deeper play for the multi-billion-dollar U.S. betting market.
