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MGM Resorts International And The Alliance Of American Football Partner On Sports Betting Technology
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MGM Resorts Will Become First Official Sports Betting Sponsor and Investor of New Professional Football League Launching February 9, 2019
MGM Resorts International and new professional football league, The Alliance of American Football, have entered into a transaction that includes an investment in The Alliance and a three-year sponsorship establishing MGM Resorts as the official sports betting sponsor of The Alliance and exclusive gaming partner.
For MGM Resorts, the investment represents its forward-looking view on the combination of live sports, real-time second-generation stats, and fan engagement – either for fun or for those who may choose to wager. The Alliance’s new technology is revolutionary and will create a state-of-the-art experience for fans. The Alliance, founded by Charlie Ebersol and Bill Polian, is building its media and technology platform as part of the launch of the new league in February 2019.
For The Alliance, the partnership aligns the league with the best gaming operator in the country and gives the sports entity the ability to utilize MGM Resorts’ vast experience and industry-leading operations with mobile gaming. When The Alliance takes the historic first snap in February 2019, fans will be able to stream Alliance matchups for free through its first-of-its-kind app, while accessing integrated gaming with real rewards, and now, in states where sports gambling is legal, the sports betting platform owned and operated by MGM GVC Interactive will provide fans with in-game wagering while also still providing traditional sports betting.
“We are excited to team with The Alliance on this unprecedented partnership, which allows us to fully engage with fans and revolutionize the fan experience,” said MGM Resorts Chairman & CEO, Jim Murren. “We look forward to expanding our customer base into this exciting new league and sports betting opportunity.”
“Our focus has always been to bring together best-in-class partners to build a spring football league that will change the landscape of professional sports,” said Charlie Ebersol, CEO and co-founder, “We realized our overall mission and vision were in complete alignment with MGM. As one of the world’s largest and most successful gaming companies, and an industry leader in innovation, together we can revolutionize the sports wagering experience for fans in a way that’s never been done before. I’m proud to welcome them to The Alliance as our first official corporate investor.”
ABOUT MGM RESORTS INTERNATIONAL
MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) is an S&P 500® global entertainment company with national and international locations featuring best-in-class hotels and casinos, state-of-the-art meetings and conference spaces, incredible live and theatrical entertainment experiences, and an extensive array of restaurant, nightlife and retail offerings. MGM Resorts creates immersive, iconic experiences through its suite of Las Vegas-inspired brands. The MGM Resorts portfolio encompasses 28 unique hotel offerings including some of the most recognizable resort brands in the industry. Expanding throughout the U.S. and around the world, the company in 2018 opened MGM Springfield in Massachusetts, MGM COTAI in Macau, and the first Bellagio-branded hotel in Shanghai. The 81,000 global employees of MGM Resorts are proud of their company for being recognized as one of FORTUNE® Magazine’s World’s Most Admired Companies®. For more information visit us at www.mgmresorts.com.
ABOUT THE ALLIANCE OF AMERICAN FOOTBALL
Led by some of the most respected football minds in the game, The Alliance of American Football is a dynamic professional football league fueled by an unprecedented Alliance between players, fans and the game. Founded by TV and film producer Charlie Ebersol and Hall of Famer Bill Polian, The Alliance will feature eight teams with 50-player rosters playing a 10-week regular season schedule in the spring beginning February 9, 2019 on CBS, followed by two playoff rounds and culminating with the championship game the weekend of April 26-28, 2019.
The eight cities, stadiums and head coaches are as follows:
- Alliance Orlando/Spectrum Stadium/Steve Spurrier
- Alliance Atlanta/Georgia State Stadium/Brad Childress
- Alliance Memphis/Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium/Mike Singletary
- Alliance Salt Lake/ Rice-Eccles Stadium/Dennis Erickson
- Alliance Phoenix/Sun Devil Stadium/Rick Neuheisel
- Alliance San Diego/San Diego County Credit Union Stadium/Mike Martz
- Alliance Birmingham/Legion Field Stadium/Tim Lewis
- Alliance San Antonio/Alamodome/Mike Riley
Fans will be able to stream Alliance matchups live via the free Alliance app while accessing integrated fantasy options with real rewards — for themselves and the players they are cheering on. With a focus on player well-being on and off the field, The Alliance will provide players with a commitment to safety and state-of-the-art equipment as well as a comprehensive bonus system, post-football career planning, financial counseling and scholarship support for postsecondary education.
Statements in this release that are not historical facts are “forward-looking” statements and “safe harbor statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve risks and/or uncertainties, including those described in MGM Resorts’ public filings with the SEC. MGM Resorts has based forward-looking statements on management’s current expectations and assumptions and not on historical facts. Examples of these statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the expected benefits to be achieved as a result of the partnership. Among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in such forward-looking statements include effects of economic conditions and market conditions in the markets in which MGM Resorts operates and competition with other destination travel locations throughout the United States and the world, the design, timing and costs of expansion projects, risks relating to international operations, permits, licenses, financings, approvals and other contingencies in connection with growth in new or existing jurisdictions and additional risks and uncertainties described in MGM Resorts’ Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and Form 8-K reports (including all amendments to those reports). In providing forward-looking statements, MGM Resorts is not undertaking any duty or obligation to update these statements publicly as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. If MGM Resorts updates one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that it will make additional updates with respect to those other forward-looking statements.
Source: MGM Resorts International
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Team Heretics integrates Chiliz directly onto its platform, transforms engagement and loyalty
Team Heretics transforms engagement and loyalty by integrating Chiliz infrastructure directly onto its platform
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Team Heretics first partnered with Chiliz to launch a $TH Fan Token on Socios.com in May 2020
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The Spanish esports giant is now advancing its Web3 foothold, by launching a Chiliz Chain powered digital asset wallet in its official store and a loyalty programme powered by Chiliz’s Web3 infrastructure
Team Heretics, the renowned esports club, makes a twofold strategic move towards the future of fan engagement: it becomes the first team in its sector to natively integrate a blockchain wallet into its official store, and alongside this, unveils the launch of a new and ambitious loyalty programme. Chiliz, the leading provider of blockchain solutions for the sports and entertainment industry, powers both developments.
The integration of the blockchain wallet into Team Heretics’ e-commerce platform is a major technical advancement, enabling fans to connect their wallets securely and directly, while managing ownership of their $TH Fan Tokens. This functionality is the cornerstone upon which Team Heretics will build innovative and personalised digital and real-world experiences for those supporters who hold this asset.
Building on this technological foundation, Team Heretics is developing an innovative and dynamic loyalty programme. This programme will utilise the club’s Fan Tokens as the primary vehicle to unlock membership tiers, exclusive rewards, early access to products, special discounts, and new ways to participate and interact with the club. The objective is to go beyond traditional utility and create an ecosystem where fan loyalty and commitment are continuously recognised and rewarded within Heretics’ own universe.
“Together with Chiliz, we’ve been working on finding ways to empower our community by exploring the emerging areas of technology. With this new program, in 2025, we’re taking a leap forward in how we connect with and value our community compared to what we’ve done with Chiliz in the past — evolving the experience so that being a token holder truly grants access to exclusive experiences and a say in certain day-to-day decisions at Team Heretics. We want our fans to feel that being active in the community comes with rewards, and with Chiliz, we’ll keep working on that better than ever,” said Alejandro Marcos, CMO of Team Heretics.
What does this mean for the future of sport?
This twofold announcement underscores Chiliz’s and Team Heretics’ vision for the potential of Web3 in sport and entertainment. Having already dived into this type of engagement by letting their community choose elements such as their Superliga name or the design of their official flag with their Fan Tokens, the wallet integration is now the gateway to deeper engagement, while the loyalty programme is the strategy that capitalises on that connection.
“This integration is much more than a new feature; it’s the manifestation of our vision at Chiliz for the future of fan engagement in Web3,” states Alexandre Dreyfus, CEO of Chiliz. “We are demonstrating how blockchain technology enables clubs, like Team Heretics, to build versatile, multidisciplinary, and direct experiences with their communities, using their own channels.”
The Web3 Advantage: Beyond the traditional model
Fundamentally, Chiliz’s Web3 infrastructure provides the necessary flexibility, security, and autonomy for Fan Tokens to act as genuine digital assets, whose utility can be integrated and exploited to their full potential by each club. This takes fan engagement to a new level of personalisation and control, managed directly by the club, helping them to take the reins of their fan experience and build their own ecosystems.
This initiative with Team Heretics is a clear example of hyper-personalisation, adapting Chiliz’s infrastructure to the club’s specific language and objectives. This sets a precedent that, in the near future, other clubs might follow regardless of whether or not they are digital natives.
An autonomous ecosystem for greater loyalty
With these advancements, Team Heretics and Chiliz – as a pioneering company with collaborations with teams of the calibre of FC Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Atlético de Madrid, Manchester City, Juventus, and Inter Milan, among others – propose a model where blockchain technology serves as a catalyst for a closer, more participatory relationship between the club and its fans.
The foundations are being laid for a future where supporters are not mere spectators, but active participants in the life and development of the club, through loyalty programmes that truly understand and reward their passion.
The post Team Heretics integrates Chiliz directly onto its platform, transforms engagement and loyalty appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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Xanada Investments Reveals Strategic Backing of Sweepium, Targeting the U.S. Sweepstakes Landscape
Xanada Investments, a leading ideological investment fund focused on the iGaming sector, has officially revealed its early-stage investment in Sweepium, a breakthrough B2B platform and game aggregator redefining how sweepstakes casino brands launch, operate, and scale in the U.S. market.
The decision to invest in Sweepium was driven by a clear alignment of vision: a bold team building real sweepstakes infrastructure for an underserved and fast-growing segment, while providing a serious competitive advantage to existing platforms.
Purpose-built for the complexities of the U.S. regulatory landscape, Sweepium delivers a fully integrated, turnkey platform that includes a bank-approved payment architecture, CRM, customer support, content management, game aggregation, and promotional tools. Its standout capability — its bank-approved payment system — the first of its kind in the U.S. sweepstakes sector — enabling operators to process transactions with institutional-grade compliance and reliability.
Over the past year, Xanada’s support extended far beyond capital. Acting as strategic advisors and active mentors, the fund worked closely with the Sweepium team to strengthen their operational and go-to-market strategy to accelerate brand onboarding and commercial traction.
Today, Sweepium is live with multiple operators, supports integrations with over 50 game providers, and enables new clients to launch in just 8–10 weeks from contract to first processed payment — a speed and standard unmatched in the space.
“From day one, Sweepium showed both clarity of vision and precision in execution,” said Vladimir Malakchi, CEO & Managing Partner at Xanada Investments. “Our decision to invest was driven not only by the unique positioning of the platform but by the team’s operational discipline and long-term thinking. Over the past year, we’ve worked closely with Sweepium to evolve their business infrastructure, guide strategic decisions, and help unlock market growth — and the results speak for themselves.”
Daniel Mitton, Founder & CEO of Sweepium, commented: “Partnering with Xanada Investments brought more than capital — it brought strategy, structure, and scale. Their team helped us align operations with long-term growth goals, navigate licensing, and open doors commercially. With Xanada’s support, we’ve accelerated our market readiness and laid the groundwork for sustainable expansion.”
As Sweepium enters its next phase of growth, the company is focused on expanding its partner base, deepening product capabilities, and continuing to lead in compliance-first innovation within the U.S. sweepstakes space.
About Xanada Investments
Xanada Investments is an ideological investment fund targeting PreSeed, Seed, and Series A funding rounds for innovative projects and leaders in the iGaming industry. With a focus on long-term success, Xanada is committed to providing not only capital but also strategic guidance and support to help businesses scale quickly and efficiently.
About Sweepium
Sweepium is a B2B platform and game aggregator enabling the launch of sweepstakes casino brands under a white-label model. The company supports over 80 game providers, offers full operational setup, and is the first provider of bank-approved white-label payments for sweepstakes in the U.S. market.
The post Xanada Investments Reveals Strategic Backing of Sweepium, Targeting the U.S. Sweepstakes Landscape appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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BEGE Expo Announces “Gaming Start-UP Challenge 7.0” — A Premier Opportunity for Gaming Innovators
For the 16th edition of BEGE, one of the most important events in the gaming industry in the Balkans, the expo proudly brings back the “Gaming Start-UP Challenge 7.0” as a highlight of this year’s event. This exciting entrepreneurial competition returns to the BEGE and EEGS stage, offering start-ups a unique platform to showcase their innovations to industry leaders and investors.
The challenge is open to start-ups developing groundbreaking solutions relevant to the gaming industry. Whether your focus is on advanced payment methods, online gaming platforms, cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies, security solutions, or cutting-edge game development tools, your innovation has a place here. The competition also welcomes pioneering work in augmented and virtual reality, esports and live streaming, and responsible gaming technologies. In essence, any technology that enhances or revolutionizes the gaming or gambling experience fits the spirit of this challenge.
Participants will have the exclusive chance to pitch their start-up live on the EEGS stage, gaining invaluable exposure during the two-day BEGE exhibition. Beyond the stage, this event provides a vibrant networking environment to connect with potential partners, investors, and key stakeholders across the gaming ecosystem.
To apply, startups are required to pay a nominal participation fee of 100 euros to secure their spot. Selected applicants will receive a short questionnaire and be invited to prepare a concise presentation for the competition.
Don’t miss this opportunity to propel your gaming start-up into the spotlight and join the forefront of gaming innovation.
Apply now and take your place in shaping the future of the industry!
The post BEGE Expo Announces “Gaming Start-UP Challenge 7.0” — A Premier Opportunity for Gaming Innovators appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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