The Single Best Way to Invest in E-Sports in 2017

Money Morning Director of Technology & Venture Capital Research Michael Robinson recently told readers about a new opportunity he likened to investing in the National Football League in 1920. The recommendation was to invest in e-sports.

You may ask, "E-sports? What is that, and why should I care?"

You might have asked the same question in 1920 about the NFL, and look how well that did. SportsBusiness Journal reports the NFL expects to generate $14 billion in 2017. So, when Robinson thinks that e-sports are primed for massive growth in a similar way, we should pay close attention.

Trending: So Small, Yet So Powerful; This Microscopic DOT Is About to Impact 7 Billion People

Over the past four years, e-sports enjoyed 138% growth. That's a total of 238 million viewers around the world for a new kind of "sport" that didn't really hit its stride until 2010. And this has not been lost on traditional sports institutions. A group of owners from the NFL, National Basketball Association, and Major League Baseball recently invested more than $140 million to start their own teams.

And while the industry may be a young one, it is already ripe for disruption...

invest in e sportsIf the players don't look like traditional athletes, it's because they aren't. In the new field of "e-sports," teams duel it out over computer games while fans watch online or, believe it or not, at major arena-type venues like Madison Square Garden. And that makes it ripe for the richly immersive experience of virtual reality (VR).

SuperData Research valued the e-sports market at $748 million in 2015. The figure includes sponsorships, advertising, team prizes, fantasy sites, and ticket sales. By the end of 2018, SuperData says that figure will climb 154% - to $1.9 billion.

Roughly 52% of those sales will come from the United States and Canada. In other words, unlike most American pro sports, e-sports already is a global field with a lot of growth ahead.

And Robinson has found the best way to play this industry's explosive growth...

The Best Way to Invest in E-Sports Today

[mmpazkzone name="in-story" network="9794" site="307044" id="137008" type="4"]

You may not think of Robinson's top pick as a player in the e-sports world, so prepare to be pleasantly surprised. And not only is it the best entry point into the industry for investors, but it is the safest, as well.

It's Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB).

While there are dozens of small and not-so-small VR companies trying to stake their claims, Facebook is the one with true lasting power. And of course, it is only part of what you get when you invest in this stock.

Facebook owns the Oculus Rift VR headset. The virtual world creates a strong bond between players and their fans. After all, teams will battle it out wearing VR headsets while fans at home can join the action from the comfort of their couches using the same equipment that puts them in the center of the action.

VR is a great growth field in its own right. MarketsandMarkets says the sector will be worth $33.9 billion by 2022. During the period, growth will average 57.8% a year.

But there's much more upside ahead for Facebook than just its VR headset. The social network giant is also becoming a go-to e-sports outlet.

In April, Facebook signed a deal with Team Dignitas, one of the field's top teams. The next month, Team Zuckerberg joined forces with e-sports league ESL to bring more than 5,550 hours of events and other fresh content to Facebook, including 1,500 hours of original programming.

That pact brings up a key point behind why Robinson believes Facebook will soon dominate the new gaming paradigm. Simply stated, no online, cable, or TV network can match its user base and its Facebook Live streaming format.

Facebook Is a Cash Machine

Facebook has 1.94 billion active monthly users at the end of the first quarter, up 17% from the same period last year. Daily average users grew by 18% to 1.28 billion, a figure that is just shy of China's 1.37 billion population.

In the first quarter, sales rose 51% to $7.8 billion, while diluted earnings per share climbed 73% to $1.04. The firm has $32 billion in cash on hand. The stock is trading around $168.60 and has a $491.36 billion market cap.

Pick up a few shares, and you get one of the tech sector's top stocks with year-to-date gains of 38%. That's more than three times the S&P 500's return over the same period.

Add it all up, and you can see that Facebook is not just a great way to play the growth in e-sports and the dawn of the VR era.

It's also a stock you can count on to grow your portfolio over the long run, as firms all over the world keep tapping the power of its massive user base.

Tech Billionaire's Next Big Bet: He's already made billions transforming the technology world. And now Bill Gates has loaded up on a tiny $6 million company that's about to transform medicine as we know it. It just won in a stunning patent verdict. And with 40 registered patents and 500 patents pending, this company is poised to disrupt every aspect of the $3 trillion healthcare market. A major announcement is imminent, and we could see a 28,700% revenue surge in the next 18 months. Click here now...

Follow Money Morning on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.