Latest News
Esports fans expected to come out in force to bet on IEM Katowice


IEM Katowice 2021 is expected to lead to a “significant uptick” in esports betting action this month.
The $1m CS:GO championship, due to start on Tuesday, February 16, is among the standout events of the year and comes after almost 12 months of disruption to the esports calendar.
The event is famed for being held at the Polish city’s iconic Spodek Arena but Covid restrictions mean no fans will be in attendance as teams play online from locations around Europe.
Nevertheless, a flurry of betting action is expected on the event, as 24 of the world’s best CS:GO teams compete for the $400,000 first prize.
Metodi Zaburtov, Director of Sportsbook at Luckbox, said: “CS:GO fans have been starved of action for much of the past 12 months and IEM Katowice has a special place in their hearts.
“Data from previous years shows us that there is a significant uptick in CS:GO betting at this time of year thanks to IEM Katowice. This is largely due to the quality and popularity of the teams involved, the high-profile nature of the event and intense nature of the competition – with so many matches being played over two weeks.
“The fact that the tournament is online is a pity but esports fans have shown a strong willingness to continue to back their favourite teams and try to pick winners in such tournaments throughout the past year. We expect that to be the case even more for IEM Katowice.”
A year for the underdogs?
Astralis are outright favourites to win another IEM Katowice title, with odds of 3.10 ahead of Team Vitality at 3.80. Heroic are third favourites at 5.00 while defending champions Na’Vi are available at 5.50.
But fans planning to bet on IEM Katowice, could be wise to keep an eye on the underdogs.
Zaburtov said: “I think it’s worth looking at some teams that have been very strong during warm-up tournaments. Complexity are on fire and available at odds of 23.00, while BIG at 9.5, Virtus.pro (13.25) and Gambit (31.00) look great value. Also, the underachievement of the top two teams – Vitality and Astralis – in recent weeks is hardly great preparation. “We have seen evidence to suggest that online tournaments lead to more shock results, with a noticeable series of outcomes going as predicted by the odds.
“Online matches are more susceptible to technical issues such as latency, which can sometimes prove a leveller – like a football match on a bad pitch. “There is also the fact that players are often in their own homes, as opposed to being cheered on by thousands of fans. This often brings out the best in experienced players, while lower-level players might crumble under the pressure. Perhaps playing online suits smaller teams because there is less pressure.
“This could be a good year for the underdogs.”

Latest News
BetKing Renews Ikorodu City FC Partnership for 2025/26 NPFL Season
BetKing, Nigeria’s leading sports betting and digital entertainment brand under KingMakers, has renewed its official partnership with Ikorodu City Football Club for the 2025/26 Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) season.
This marks the third consecutive year of collaboration between both organisations, highlighting a shared commitment to grassroots development, youth empowerment and the growth of Nigerian football.
Since the partnership began in 2023, Ikorodu City FC, popularly known as the Oga Boys, has risen rapidly through the ranks, earning promotion to the NPFL in 2024 and finishing an impressive fourth place in their debut 2024/25 campaign.
Their season was highlighted by a record-breaking 6–0 victory over Katsina United, one of the most dominant results in NPFL history.
BetKing’s support for Nigerian sports extends far beyond football. The company recently commissioned a modern mini sports complex at Ifako Ijaiye, already serving over 400,000 community members, including neighbouring communities.
The post BetKing Renews Ikorodu City FC Partnership for 2025/26 NPFL Season appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Latest News
Paysecure launches dynamic cashier – iGaming’s most customisable payments solution
-
Solution gives operators complete control over cashier look and feel
-
Product designed to enhance player conversion, retention and LTV
-
Dynamic cashier will debut at SBC Summit in Lisbon
Paysecure, an award-winning payment orchestration provider in iGaming, has unveiled its dynamic cashier product – the most customisable cashier solution on the market, providing operators with deep insights into user behaviour to improve conversion and reduce fraud.
The dynamic cashier solution empowers clients to completely control the look, feel and execution of the deposit and withdrawal process to enable seamless, multi-currency deposit and pay-out flows.
An enhanced cashier experience is designed to improve conversion by up to 7% and increase deposit value by up to 35%. It also enables operators to extend brand experience, localise and segment user flows, and gain deeper insights into player behaviour at the cashier stage.
Operators will gain access to deep insights on player behaviour at the cashier, enabling them to continually optimise the experience to boost acceptance rates and reduce friction. Detailed cashier performance analysis on data points including cashier load times, error types and success rates – combined with advanced AI tools to monitor and flag performance improvement opportunities – equip payments teams to scale operations and reduce barriers for players.
The dynamic cashier product also allows operators to add personalised promotions and notifications at key touch points throughout the cashier experience, to help improve player engagement rates, reduce friction and provide a seamless journey to play.
Operators are able to build their ideal cashier experience at speed via the Paysecure platform. With control over colours, logos, CTA buttons and more, teams are able to update and test updates in a sandbox environment, meaning improvements can be pushed live within minutes.
Paysecure’s customisable cashier also allows operators to control taxation parameters, surcharge fees, transaction thresholds, and currency settings.
Viktoriia Degtiarova, CCO and Co-Founder at Paysecure, said: “Our dynamic cashier solution gives operators unprecedented flexibility to transform the payments journey into a real competitive advantage.
“The cashier is where players decide whether to deposit, return and ultimately stay loyal, so delivering the right experience directly impacts conversion and lifetime value. With our fully customisable, dynamic cashier, operators can fully control the look and feel of their cashier to create seamless, on-brand journeys that resonate with players, while localising flows for different markets and segments.
“The product is built with performance and reliability in mind, from faster checkouts and built-in smart routing to detailed insights on success rates, load times and player behaviour. That means operators can continually refine their strategy, boost acceptance from the first step and deliver frictionless, reliable payment experiences at scale.
“For iGaming businesses looking to strengthen brand resonance, drive repeat custom and unlock new growth, our dynamic cashier offers the most customisable and client-focused solution on the market.”
The Paysecure team will be at SBC Summit in Lisbon at stand E200.
The post Paysecure launches dynamic cashier – iGaming’s most customisable payments solution appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Latest News
Paytently and Mastercard Partner to Launch Next-Generation Open Banking Payment Solution
Paytently, the specialist payments orchestration platform, has launched Paytently Open Banking powered by Mastercard Open Finance, an account-to-account payment option at checkout that lets customers pay directly from their bank and helps merchants increase conversion rates and improve cash flow.
This comes as Mastercard research[1] shows that more than three-quarters of consumers in leading markets already use open banking, fuelling demand for instant, account-to-account payments at checkout, giving merchants with “Pay by Bank” functionality a competitive edge.
Leveraging Mastercard’s open banking connectivity and Paytently’s orchestration layer, Paytently Open Banking streamlines payments end-to-end, bringing secure bank authentication, payment initiation, and enhanced reconciliation within a single flow for greater operational efficiency. Paytently’s proprietary orchestration engine routes each transaction over the most effective rail for instant payment confirmation and faster settlement.
“This collaboration with Mastercard marks a significant step forward in our mission to deliver robust, scalable payment solutions for sectors that demand more from their payments partner,” said Samuel Barrett, Co-Founder and CEO of Paytently. “By combining our orchestration expertise with Mastercard’s open banking technology, we’re enabling merchants to move money faster, reduce operational friction, and ultimately create a more seamless experience for their customers.”
“Our collaboration with Paytently brings the benefits of open banking payments to more merchants who value speed, transparency, and flexibility in their transactions,” said Valerie Nowak, EVP, Head of Open Finance APEMEA at Mastercard. “By combining Mastercard’s secure open finance infrastructure with Paytently’s expertise in complex payment environments, we’re enabling businesses to offer their customers another trusted and seamless way to pay.”
The partnership reflects a strong alignment between Mastercard’s global scale and secure open finance infrastructure, and Paytently’s agility and expertise in orchestrating payments for various sectors. Together, they are bringing an advanced open banking payment solution to market that delivers on speed, reliability, and customer experience.
Paytently and Mastercard will be presenting the solution together at SBC Summit in Lisbon, September 16–18, 2025, where Paytently is a Platinum Headline Sponsor.
[1] Rise of Open Banking Report, Mastercard 2024
The post Paytently and Mastercard Partner to Launch Next-Generation Open Banking Payment Solution appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
-
Latest News3 months ago
HIPTHER Movement Launched: Fitness Community & Summer Run-Off Challenge Powered by GameOn
-
Latest News3 months ago
Brand-new projects debuting at iGB L!VE: Casino&You and Win&You Partners!
-
Latest News1 month ago
Light & Wonder to Participate in the 2025 Australasian Gaming Expo
-
Latest News4 weeks ago
ReferOn Shortlisted for Acquisition & Retention Partner of the Year at SBC Lisbon 2025
-
Latest News1 month ago
Gavin Hamilton Joins Sports & Wellbeing Analytics as Chairman to Accelerate Global Expansion
-
Latest News2 months ago
2025 PUBG MOBILE WORLD CUP KICKS OFF WITH GROUP DRAW AHEAD OF ESPORTS WORLD CUP
-
Latest News2 months ago
HIPTHER Community Voices: Interview with the CEO and co-founder of Nordcurrent Victoria Trofimova
-
Latest News3 months ago
HIPTHER Community Voices: Interview with Dr. Maria Loumpourdi, founder and Managing Director of Made From Within
You must be logged in to post a comment Login