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Arlington to construct Esports Stadium
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The home of the making is a risky bet on the fast-growing world of competitive video games.
Arlington, a city in Texas, is going to construct a $10-million, state-of-the-art stadium exclusively for eSports. This should be the first of its kind initiative where tax money is used to develop an e-Sports venue. The council of the city, home of Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers, seems to be betting big on the growth of eSports.
The stadium will offer facilities to follow Overwatch or Fortnite matches on live-streaming apps and to witness contestants in tricked-out easy chairs compete on big screens.
The global revenue from sports – through sponsorships, merchandise and tickets, game-publisher fees, media rights and advertising – is projected to touch $906 million this year. That has prompted the city rulers to take the plunge.
Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams said: “The revenue is growing so quickly, and the sport is growing so quickly, that we want to be there at the table and starting that revenue generation as soon as possible.”
The venue, slated to open later this year, will accommodate 2,000 fans. It will also include shops, team training areas, a broadcast studio and a VIP room. The city said its investment will be repaid with event proceeds, arena-naming rights and lease payments on the building.
Economists have repeatedly warned cities about the folly of supporting sports venues.
“Every dollar that Arlington spends on this esports arena is a dollar it can’t devote to education or roads or public safety,” said Michael Farren, an economist at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center in Arlington, Virginia.
For the investment to pay off, fans will need to come from outside Arlington, said Andrew Zimbalist, an economics professor at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. If most attendees already live in the area, it simply “reshuffles” spending from other entertainment venues, such as movie theatres or bowling alleys.
“It perplexes me that this is something that’s happening at all,” Zimbalist said.
Gamemaker Activision Blizzard Inc. has opened arenas in Taipei and Burbank, California. Allied Esports, a joint venture of Chinese gaming companies, has venues in Santa Ana, California, and Las Vegas and an internet cafe in Beijing with gaming stations and space for 200 spectators. The University of California-Irvine opened an arena in 2016.
Arlington voters have twice approved stadium funding for Major League Baseball’s Rangers. In 1991, they OK’d the sale of $135 million in bonds to build what’s now called Globe Life Park. And in 2016, they approved as much as $500 million for a $1 billion ballpark, yet to be built, with a retractable roof.
The city’s pride, however, is AT&T Stadium, also known as Jerry World after the Cowboys’s billionaire owner. In 2004, voters passed new sales, hotel and car-rental taxes to put $325 million towards the $1.2 billion, 80,000-seat stadium.
Source: bloomberg.com
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Faster Guest Entry at Korea’s INSPIRE Entertainment Resort’s Casino, Powered by Regula’s Technology
International guests arriving at South Korea’s largest foreigner-only casino, INSPIRE Entertainment Resort, now enjoy a significantly faster and more seamless check-in experience. Customer onboarding times have noticeably improved following the integration of Regula’s advanced identity verification technology. Regula Document Reader SDK, the most comprehensive ID verification solution in the world, integrates with the resort’s anti-money laundering (AML) procedures, boosting operational efficiency and compliance.
Seeking to enhance operational efficiency and meet evolving AML requirements, INSPIRE Entertainment Resort sought a faster and more accurate solution. The resort, which features a high-volume casino catering exclusively to foreign guests, needed a system capable of recognizing passports from around the globe with minimal friction.
Following vendor evaluations, INSPIRE selected Regula Document Reader SDK for its superior document reading speed, intuitive interface, and unmatched global ID coverage. Regula’s solution is powered by the company’s proprietary ID template database—the world’s largest—covering 15,000+ document templates across 254 countries and territories.
Deployed across six entrance stations, Regula Document Reader SDK enables real-time extraction and validation of critical ID data, such as name, date of birth, nationality, and passport number. This data is then passed directly to INSPIRE’s AML system, which in turn performs automated screening against external compliance and watchlist databases.
Since deploying Regula Document Reader SDK, INSPIRE Entertainment Resort casino has experienced:
- Faster document processing and guest entry.
- Significant reduction in manual rescans and staff workload.
- Consistently smooth onboarding, even during peak entry hours.
“As the team responsible for passport scanning at the casino, we’re very satisfied with the improvements Regula has brought. The speed of document processing has noticeably increased, and guest entry has become much smoother. It’s a reliable solution that has elevated the efficiency of our daily operations,” says Dr. Ilnam Lee, IT Director at INSPIRE Entertainment Resort.
“In industries like hospitality, every second counts. We’re happy to support INSPIRE Entertainment Resort in creating a faster and more secure guest onboarding experience while meeting strict AML requirements. Our focus is to make accurate identity verification seamless, even in complex international scenarios, and this project is a great example of that in action,” says Ihar Kliashchou, Chief Technology Officer at Regula.
The post Faster Guest Entry at Korea’s INSPIRE Entertainment Resort’s Casino, Powered by Regula’s Technology appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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Make-A-Wish® International Launches Infinite Wishes Initiative to Inspire Hope Through the Power of Gaming
Make-A-Wish® International, the world’s leading wish-granting organization, has announced the launch of its Infinite Wishes Initiative, a global programme aimed at uniting the video games industry to help grant life-changing wishes for children living with critical illnesses.
Launched in response to a dramatic rise in gaming-related wishes – ranging from building custom PCs to meeting developers or creating custom skins – Infinite Wishes provides a flexible, inclusive framework for the industry to make a meaningful impact, no matter an organization’s size or budget. With tiered partnership levels and non-financial participation options, companies can get involved in ways that align with their goals and resources.
April Stallings, Charitable Gaming and Creators Community Manager at Make-A-Wish International, commented:
“Infinite Wishes is about creating pathways for the games industry to do great things, whether that’s funding wishes, hosting a livestream, or simply sparking a new idea for impact. We know how passionate and talented this community is. This initiative is about giving teams a purpose-driven outlet to rally around – one that lifts spirits, sparks creativity, and changes lives.”
To help shape and guide the programme, Make-A-Wish International has assembled a Games Industry Advisory Committee made up of leaders and experts across the sector. Going into its second year, the committee includes representatives from Square Enix, Bethesda, Bandai Namco Entertainment, Raccoon Logic, 2K, Deviant Legal, Modoyo, Stream for a Cause, and Dames4Games.
Wouter Van Vugt, EMEA Communications & Community Engagement Senior Director at Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe and Chair of the Make-A-Wish Games Industry Advisory Committee, added:
“There’s never been a better time for the games industry to show its heart. Through Infinite Wishes, our industry has the opportunity to channel our collective goodwill and reach into something that delivers lasting, real-world impact for children who need it most. The opportunity to help fulfil a child’s wish is one of the most powerful things we can offer.”
Since 1980, Make-A-Wish has granted over 615,000 wishes globally. In 2024 alone, the international network granted more than 16,000 wishes, with gaming playing a growing role in the wish journey of many children. The Infinite Wishes initiative reflects Make-A-Wish International’s commitment to expanding its impact through new and innovative partnerships with the gaming community.
Inaugural members of the Infinite Wishes Initiative include Raptor PR and PlaySafe ID.
The post Make-A-Wish® International Launches Infinite Wishes Initiative to Inspire Hope Through the Power of Gaming appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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AI-powered iGaming customer service firm Tugi Tark signs strategic partnership agreement with WebPrefer
The partnership will deliver smarter support for iGaming operators, including multilingual support, regulatory compliance, and elevated player experiences
Tugi Tark today announces a strategic partnership with WebPrefer, the Swedish software company behind the Wepam iGaming platform. The collaboration brings Tugi Tark’s AI-powered support software into WebPrefer’s core technology, offering iGaming operators a fully integrated solution for modern customer service.
As the iGaming industry faces increasing demand for multilingual support, regulatory compliance, and elevated player experiences, the integration of Tugi Tark’s AI-powered customer service software directly into the Wepam Player Account Management (PAM) system offers operators an innovative edge. This solution enables faster, smarter, and more scalable player support across markets.
WebPrefer’s Wepam platform is built with adaptability in mind, supporting multi-brand operations, CRM, rewards, responsible gaming, and real-time monitoring. By integrating Tugi Tark’s customer support software directly into its PAM system, WebPrefer delivers a plug-and-play solution for iGaming operators.
Harpo Lilja, CEO of Tugi Tark, said: “We are thrilled to partner with WebPrefer to bring smarter support to the iGaming world.This collaboration underscores our shared commitment to help operators create deeper connections with their players through AI-enhanced support.”
Mikael Lindberg Castell, Founder & CEO of WebPrefer, said: “Implementing Tugi Tark’s AI Agent support tool into our own PAM solution was a no-brainer for us. Assisting end users is fundamental to any business, and together with Tugi Tark we can now present a complete solution for iGaming operators. This partnership is one more way we’re making player care faster, smarter, and at scale.”
This partnership marks a significant milestone in both companies’ missions to modernize iGaming support and operational strategy. The integrated system is customizable, fast to deploy, and designed with regulatory frameworks in mind, ideal for operators scaling across brands, geographies, and languages.
The post AI-powered iGaming customer service firm Tugi Tark signs strategic partnership agreement with WebPrefer appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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