The betting company Melbet has become a partner of the Turkish esports organization Eternal Fire. ET’s next tournament, featuring a new sponsor, will be the BLAST Bounty 2025 Season 1.

“We’re proud to partner with Eternal Fire. They’ve not just been part of Turkish CS history, they’ve written it. With Melbet behind them, we hope that Eternal Fire can reach even greater heights, deliver new victories for their fans, and showcase the passion for CS in Turkey,” said a Melbet representative.

The Melbet logo will be featured on the team’s jerseys and social media channels during game streams and other events as part of the partnership. Together with Melbet, EF players plan to host autograph sessions and other fan engagement activities.

Melbet will also help grow Eternal Fire’s massive FACEIT Club, which already boasts nearly 20,000 players.

Eternal Fire, one of Turkey’s biggest names in esports, is making waves on the global Counter-Strike scene. Ranked 13th by HLTV, they’ve had an amazing run, placing second at ESL Pro League Season 20 and making it to the PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen 2024 quarterfinals.

Melbet’s sponsorship of Eternal Fire extends beyond CS2, encompassing their entire PUBG roster.

Leading horse racing and sportsbook provider, Pythia Sports, has announced its latest client partnership with global sports betting operator Betmaster. The collaboration sees Betmaster go live with Pythia’s full managed trading services racing betting product, enhancing its offering for racing enthusiasts worldwide.

This partnership, which launched in December 2024, marks another milestone for Pythia Sports as it continues to expand its presence in the global racing industry. The agreement was facilitated in collaboration with Racing1 Markets by leveraging the racing packaged from Racing1, as well as the newly formed racing alliance from 1/ST Content, Arena Racing Company (ARC), Racecourse Media Group (RMG), and Tabcorp.

This gives Betmaster a 24/7 racing package in just one contract and one integration, further strengthening the ties between the racing ecosystem’s major stakeholders.

Betmaster’s adoption of Pythia’s managed trading services will provide its customers with a seamless horse racing experience for global meets across the UK and Ireland, as well as USA, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Japan, complete with expert pricing from Pythia.

Betmaster has further integrated select derivative markets with a full rollout expected later this year, alongside in-running betting.

Stephen Davison, Head of Commercial Operations at Pythia Sports, said: “We are delighted to partner with Betmaster to bring our state-of-the-art managed trading services to their platform. This partnership represents our commitment to delivering high-quality, innovative horse racing solutions to operators worldwide. We’re confident this launch will resonate with Betmaster’s customers and we are excited to see how horse racing and greyhounds can inspire growth at the company as they offer this proposition for the very first time as an operator.”

Jack Whitaker, Racing1 Markets spokesperson and Commercial Manager at ARC, said: “Racing1 Markets is all about making racing easy for customers that want a tier 1 product, with as little hassle as possible – our partnership with industry leading supplier Pythia Sports enables customers like Betmaster to receive exactly that. Betmaster, an existing brand across Ireland with global aspirations, are a perfect fit to align with Racing1 Markets’ goals.

Betmaster CPO Andrey Rozanov added: “Working with Pythia Sports as a part of the Racing1 Markets package is a game-changer for Betmaster. Their racing expertise and product set allows us to enhance our horse racing product, providing our customers with a comprehensive and dynamic betting experience. We’re thrilled to bring this product to market and look forward to seeing its impact play out as we approach the major racing events in the 2025 calendar.”

This agreement underscores the growing demand for robust horse racing solutions within the online sports betting industry and solidifies Pythia’s reputation as a trusted partner.

Pythia will be exhibiting its risk management service as part of the newly formed Racing1 partnership at ICE in Barcelona at Stand 5E38.

About Pythia Sports

Pythia Sports was established in 2014 with a focus on predictive sports modelling and data collection, primarily in racing. It works in partnership with data rights holders such as Arena Racing Company and Racecourse Media Group (RMG). It has recently worked with the latter to launch an in-play betting feed, for which Pythia provides the pricing to clients including William Hill, Ladbrokes, Coral and William Hill.

Pythia Sports has built a fully automated risk management service, encompassing fundamental pricing capabilities and advanced risk management algorithms. This has been designed as an end-to-end service for bookmakers, allowing them to offer a market-leading product with guaranteed returns and no operational overhead requirements. The product is fully customisable based on each client’s operational and trading requirements.

Bitblox, the disruptive provider behind popular crypto price prediction games Up or Down? and 3 in a Row, has announced it will receive an investment from YOLO Investments, an innovative venture capital firm with interests in blockchain and fintech.

YOLO has long been an admirer of Bitblox, with the group’s proprietary igaming platform solution, Hub88, being among the first to adopt the company’s innovative titles when it launched in the summer of 2024.

Bitblox games have since gone from strength-to-strength in the industry, with the company’s unique hybrid of skill-based games (SBGs) and games of chance attracting interest from both sports bettors and casino players alike.

Now boasting a portfolio that includes a sped up version of its flagship title, Up or Down? Turbo, and a more light-hearted game in Bitslap, Bitblox is set to make further in-roads in the igaming space over the coming months and already has a number of new releases in its pipeline for 2025.

The company’s ambitions will, of course, now be furthered by the additional support being supplied by YOLO Investments and both parties are optimistic about embarking on a mutually beneficial partnership that should help to bring crypto-based betting further into the mainstream.

Brandt Page, Chief Executive Officer at Bitblox, said: “YOLO Investments is a company with a proven track record for identifying opportunities in the cryptocurrency-focused igaming space, so we’re very happy to have received a huge vote of confidence from them in the form of this partnership.

“As one of the early adopters of our games on its Hub88 platform, Yolo has witnessed first hand the potential Bitblox titles have in driving engagement from both sports bettors and casino players and I’m confident with their backing, we’ll be able to achieve more great things in 2025.”

Klen Kaljulaid, Principal at YOLO Investments, said: “We value innovative products that break away from the traditional 3×3 reels so beloved by the industry. Bitblox games provide a sense of control, reminiscent of cash games. I particularly appreciate knowing that the results are tied to real-world price movements rather than relying on RNG. While I understand the future is inherently unpredictable, I can, at least in theory, hold onto the illusion of knowing where the market might move—and if proven right, take satisfaction in my understanding of market dynamics.”