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Halls and Virtus.pro announce partnership

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VMLY&R (part of WPP), Carat and The Story Lab (part of dentsu Russia) agencies continue to develop the esports direction for Halls (Mondelez International). The cooperation with ESforce, the largest esports organization in Russia, opens a new page for the brand cooperation.
Halls will be integrated into Virtus.pro media resources (part of ESforce).
The creative idea of the esports campaign was developed by the VML&R agency. The integration ideas were developed by The Story Lab together with ESforce. The media support is provided by Carat agency. As part of the cooperation, a promotional video has been prepared with the first Dota 2 roster. The video will be published on the club’s official YouTube channel. Within six months, Virtus.pro accounts will host posts with integrations of Halls brand, banners, articles on the site, etc.
Anna Semchuk, Senior Brand Development Manager: “For more than 120 years, the Halls brand’s mission has been to help the world breathe better. A charge of menthol in each pack is a crisp breath of air, an opportunity to focus on the moments that matter. Halls gives you a boost of concentration so you can get the most out of the game. The creative idea is ”Nothing will distract you from winning if you are charged with concentration with Halls” – perfectly reflects the new brand positioning”.
Alexander Mishutin, Director of Customer Relations at Carat: “The project’s goal was to strengthen the brand’s positioning among the young audience, where esports is an important communication channel. Such cooperation is interesting and promising for Halls in terms of engagement, increasing loyalty and the chance of attracting a new audience. The key message of the campaign, “Increase your concentration and win prizes for the best game together with Halls and Virtus.pro!”, will be supported on YouTube, VK and other resources with videos engaging Virtus.pro players”.
Sergey Glamazda, Virtus.pro General Manager: “ESforce Holding has been cooperating with the Mondelez brands for a long time. Joint projects have repeatedly shown their effectiveness and this time Halls brand becomes a Virtus.pro partner. I am pleased to welcome Halls and I am confident that our collaboration will resonate with the esports audience.”
Evgeny Podergin, Senior Copywriter VMLY&R: “The simple truth is: as you get down to the game, so you will make it. For esports players, mood and concentration before a match are as important as for traditional sportsmen. When hundreds of important things are happening on the screen in front of you every minute, you have no option to lose focus. This is the essence of our campaign and the main thing of Halls RTB. Thanks to menthol, our drops can really help you focus at the right moment, take a deep breath, exhale and throw yourself into the game without any distraction, which can prevent you from victory.”
In 2020, Halls brand has already sponsored an esports championship. Within the framework of the project, Carat agency appreciated the effectiveness of esports integrations. According to the study, Halls brand video was remembered by more than 50% of the audience, while the benchmark for FMCG brands here is only 32%. In addition to the record values, the experts of Carat revealed a loyal attitude of the esports audience to advertising integrations.
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Insurgence Gaming Company Introduces La Imperia, a Community-First All-Female VALORANT Tournament
La Imperia, a new all-female esports IP by The Insurgence Gaming Company, will make its competitive debut this month with an online VALORANT invitational tournament running from December 19 to 21, 2025. Designed as a visibility-first platform for women competitors, the event brings together four invited Indian teams for a three-day broadcast competition.
La Imperia marks the inaugural tournament by the Insurgence Gaming Company, a newly founded esports company led by Jasper Shabin, who previously served as a poject manager at Skyesports. Positioning itself as a community-first tournament operator, the Insurgence Gaming Company aims to refocus attention on grassroots competition and long-term ecosystem building at a time when entry-level and women-led esports pathways remain limited.
The tournament will be played in VALORANT and feature a round-robin group stage followed by single-elimination playoffs, culminating in a BO5 Grand Final. All matches across the three days will be broadcast live on YouTube, along with additional watch-parties.
The four invited teams competing at La Imperia include Huntrix, Sin Sisters, Plushie Gang and MyKil. All teams feature all-female rosters, aligning with La Imperia’s positioning as a dedicated women’s esports IP.
Broadcast production for the event will be handled by Momentum Gaming, serving as the official Broadcast Partner. The on-air talent lineup includes Star Tania, Nekroz, Odawg, and Hikari Jane, who will guide viewers through the tournament across all three days.
Beyond competition, La Imperia is also placing emphasis on player well-being. Sattva by Pallavi joins the tournament as the Mental Health Partner, integrating conversations around mental health and holistic wellness into the event’s broadcast and content output. The partnership reflects a growing recognition of sustainability and mental resilience within competitive gaming environments.
Speaking on the launch, Jasper Shabin, Founder of The Insurgence Gaming Company, said: “La Imperia is built to be a visibility platform first. There is no shortage of talent in the women’s VALORANT scene, but there are very few consistent stages where that talent can be seen, supported, and taken seriously. With the Insurgence Gaming Company, we want to return focus to grassroots competition and create formats that players can grow with, not just compete in once.”
The tournament carries an INR 15,000 prize pool, with the primary focus placed on competitive exposure, broadcast quality, and long-term ecosystem value rather than one-off incentives.
With its inaugural edition, La Imperia sets the foundation for a new women-led esports property in India—one that combines structured competition, professional broadcast standards, and a community-first philosophy.
The post Insurgence Gaming Company Introduces La Imperia, a Community-First All-Female VALORANT Tournament appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry Newsroom.
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FairPlay Sports Media and FOX Sports Digital Launch New Betting Hub
FairPlay’s betting technology and AI-powered predictive content drive deeper fan engagement and deliver media opportunities and revenue
FOX Sports Digital and FairPlay Sports Media, the fan-focused and AI-powered global sports media network, have announced a strategic betting tech, affiliate and sports media agreement.
Under the multi-year agreement, FairPlay will serve as the exclusive sports betting affiliate technology provider of FOX Sports Digital, deploying its market-leading odds components, advanced AI-powered predictive data and analytics, and cutting-edge technology solutions on FOXSports.com and the FOX Sports mobile application.
The new relationship powers the newly released FOX Sports Betting Hub which integrates FairPlay’s innovative sports betting-related content enhanced with bespoke, value-added experiences derived from FairPlay’s deep relationships with global sportsbook operators.
“FOX Sports is one of the largest sports rights holders in the world, with incredible access to live games and global events,” said Stuart Simms, Group CEO of FairPlay Sports Media. “FairPlay is excited to work with the FOX Sports Digital team, and we’re honored to serve their millions of users with more engaging, insightful sports media experiences that have proven to drive loyalty, engagement and deliver on brand differentiation.”
FairPlay’s advanced AI technology and robust odds components are already delivering real-time, data-driven insights to help FOX Sports fans and bettors, while monetization frameworks being deployed create revenue opportunities for operators, sportsbooks and digital media buyers.
The agreement enhances and elevates fan engagement by bringing FairPlay’s betting information technology and AI-powered tools to FOX Sports’ digital platforms. FairPlay’s approach enables FOX Sports digital users and fans to access personalized, data-driven betting analytics that deepen their connection and engagement with sports content. As the sports media and betting landscapes continue to evolve, the FOX Sports and FairPlay agreement delivers pioneering, scalable digital experiences for fans and operators alike.
The post FairPlay Sports Media and FOX Sports Digital Launch New Betting Hub appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry Newsroom.
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Betfred Launches Checkd Dev’s Automated Betting System to Strengthen Football Betting Offering
Checkd Dev, part of the award-winning Checkd Group and a leading iGaming technology provider, has signed a multi-year agreement to supply its Automated Betting System (ABS) to UK bookmaker Betfred, introducing new levels of efficiency and engagement to pre-match football accumulator betting.
Through the partnership, Betfred has launched a suite of pre-configured, one-click accumulator bets, powered by Checkd Dev’s ABS technology and seamlessly integrated with Betfred’s proprietary pricing.
The solution enhances the customer betting journey while equipping Betfred’s trading team with a robust backend platform to streamline bet creation, management, and settlement. Customers benefit from football bets that are dynamically assigned probabilities based on historic form, providing greater insight and confidence in their selections.
The launch of ABS reinforces Betfred’s reputation as an industry innovator, offering customers smarter, faster, and more engaging betting experiences.
Checkd Dev has refined its ABS user interface through deployments with multiple tier-one operators. Betfred has further strengthened the proposition by integrating its competitive Acca Flex bonus offer, available from launch. Customers can access additional bonuses if their bet wins, while also benefiting from a money-back guarantee if a single leg loses.
Since its introduction two years ago, Checkd Dev’s ABS has evolved from a statistics-driven tool to increase operator conversion rates into a comprehensive system designed to meet the growing demand for automated, pre-configured betting products, powered by the company’s proprietary BRUNO platform.
This agreement extends Checkd Dev’s recent growth trajectory, following high-profile partnerships with William Hill on a fully automated, stats-powered Bet Builder, and a three-year deal with OpenBet to launch a new Trending BetBuilder to market.
Andrew Grimshaw, Commercial Director at Checkd Dev, commented: “We are delighted to be working with fellow Mancunians Betfred on our Trending Bets product. More and more major bookmakers are recognising the tangible value of our automated betting solutions, and it is especially gratifying to collaborate with a local partner on this launch.”
Mark Hartley, Head of Product at Betfred, added: “Since moving onto our propriety platform, we’ve been able to bring new ideas to market much faster. This partnership with Checkd Dev is a great example, helping us solve a simple problem for football fans: researching and building an accumulator can sometimes feel like hard work!
“With one-click, data-driven selections we’ve made the process quicker and easier, while still giving customers the choice and depth they want. Accas are already one of our most compelling propositions, thanks to our popular promotion Acca Flex, and this launch makes them even more engaging. We’re also looking forward to exploring further opportunities to work with Checkd Dev in the future.”
The post Betfred Launches Checkd Dev’s Automated Betting System to Strengthen Football Betting Offering appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry Newsroom.
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