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Anichess, a subsidiary of Animoca Brands and the progressive chess-based online strategy game developed in partnership with Chess.com and five-time World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen, today announced a partnership with global esports brand Team Secret to further connect competitive gaming and Web3. John Yao, CEO of Team Secret, will join Anichess as an advisor.

Anichess is an innovative chess-based Web3 game developed in a collaboration between Animoca Brands and Chess.com, the renowned global online chess platform. Anichess provides a novel tactical twist on the classic game of chess by implementing spells that open up new strategies and gameplay, and that require players to rethink the rules of traditional chess as they uncover the expansive lore within the world of the gameboard. Anichess recently raised a funding round of US$1.8 million, led by Sfermion and Amber Group with participation from Fenbushi Capital, Aspen Digital, SNZ Capital, and others (see announcement of 25 April 2024).

Team Secret is a global esports brand dedicated to bringing together the best gamers to compete worldwide, while also delivering entertaining experiences to its fans. It offers advertising and promotional sponsorship, talent and team development, business management, coaching, and other forms of support to both professional and aspiring players in the esports arena.

The partnership between Anichess and Team Secret aims to solidify chess’s esports status by combining a new platform to play and learn on for an engaged audience of up-and-coming online chess masters. Ahead of the player-versus-player (PvP) mode launch later in Q2 2024, Anichess will receive input from Team Secret on its game design as well as support in bringing the spellbinding game to a dedicated community of esports players.

“Esports has always been a core pillar of Anichess’ modernization of chess’ legacy,” said Brian Chan, head of Anichess. “Anichess’s engaging visuals, tools to improve and thrilling spells make it an amazing platform for all competitors, regardless of chess experience. We look forward to those willing to take on the challenge when PvP arrives in-game soon.”

“For how ancient the game of chess is, its esports scene is a fresh, rising star in terms of viewership, player base and tournaments,” said John Yao, CEO of Team Secret. “Anichess is a promising twist on chess, with even more of what makes the original great: compelling tactics, broad recognition and rewards for players willing to think outside the box and surprise opponents. I’m looking forward to guiding Anichess into the realm of esports and integrating the new chess platform into our dedicated community.”

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Since the beginning of 2024, content aggregator and solution provider Slotegrator has been analyzing case studies and conducting careful research. Why did the company choose this development path? What results have been achieved, and what can be expected in the future? It’s time to take a look at how 2024 is going — and maybe get a sneak peek at 2025.

Since the beginning of the year, Slotegrator has continued to actively present its new and updated solutions, like the company’s turnkey online casino platform and its key modules, including the KYC, BI, and Casino Builder modules, alongside many others. These modules are strategically designed to streamline online casino management, covering tasks like analyzing big data, assessing risks, and enhancing platform performance.

The modules have proven to be very effective, partially because they satisfy clients’ concrete needs. The primary sources of inspiration for these cutting-edge innovations are the company’s internal research and case studies of successful clients.

According to Slotegrator’s internal research, clients reported that the integration of these updates came at just the right time. Customers particularly valued the revamped player segmentation module, offering customization options and personalized marketing options, and a renewed anti-fraud module that utilizes a color-coded risk scale that allows operators to set risk levels.

“This feedback from our customers is a great foundation for Slotegrator’s future report on future iGaming trends in 2025. We’re constantly collecting and updating information on new technologies, game types, payment methods and player behavior, and honest feedback on the new features of upgrades helps us understand the direction of our future development,” comments Yana Khaidukova, managing director at Slotegrator.

Innovation is key to keeping up with the fast-paced iGaming industry. In 2024, the Slotegrator team is focused on enhancing product quality and publishing insightful case studies to better demonstrate the capabilities of its products. So far, Slotegrator has published multiple case studies analyzing its clients’ success. Here are the two latest examples:

• BetSloty’s global expansion strategy in the online gambling industry.
• Alanbase’s experience optimizing affiliate marketing.

 

When it comes to modern iGaming trends, many of them haven’t changed — we should expect to see more VR integration in esports, AI, blockchain, and cryptocurrency adoption. Also, mobile-first gameplay will be a new standard. The Slotegrator team has also noted an increasing emphasis on responsible gaming throughout the iGaming industry. Slotegrator keeps all of these in mind when entering attractive markets with new partners — especially those in Latin America and Asia.

 

What about licenses? Slotegrator recommends keeping up to date with licensing conditions. Among the most promising jurisdictions are:

• Kahnawake
• The Isle of Man.
• Anjouan

Faruk Aydin, Chief Revenue Officer of Revpanda, a Slotegrator’s media partner, adds to the list of trends some points about promotion on the iGaming industry: “Within the first half of 2024, we’ve seen that human-written content has made a great comeback, thanks to Google’s recent core update. It has started to remove AI-written shallow content across the entire SERPs, and the SEO community expects this trend to continue. Overall, we can say that the first half of the year strongly demonstrates Google’s effort to fill the SERPs with high-quality, engaging, local, and relevant content, avoiding fluff and providing the most useful resources to people.”

William Sarto, PR & Marketing specialist at CasinoRIX or CasinoRIX team, comments:

“In recent months, Google has undergone several significant changes due to a major update that started in March and ended in April. Then, at the beginning of May, they launched another big update. We’ve already seen many affiliate sites affected by this, particularly those that overused AI-generated content. AI has become mainstream, so it’s important to integrate it into processes based on thorough market analysis and real statistical data.

Moreover, there’s a clear trend towards creating projects that offer additional value for players and partners. It’s crucial to build a brand, not just a network of sites, and to add values into what you create while striving to meet customer needs. We fully agree with the earlier comments that in-depth analysis and staying in tune with trends will lead to success and growth. As we can see, all major and well-known projects are steadily growing with these updates.”

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By: Evgeniy Babitsyn, Chief Marketing Officer, Bets.io

The sport industry finds itself amidst its own digital transformation journey with the introduction of new technologies, and at the forefront of this digital shift are NFTs – otherwise known as Non-Fungible Tokens.

NFTs can represent any kind of digital item, and in recent years have commonly been used for quirky collectibles and art work – but they now enter the sports arena in a unique way. The beauty of NFTs is the unique metadata and ownership information which is tracked via blockchain, making them a one-of-a-kind digital collectible that cannot be duplicated. As a result of their collectible nature, it’s only natural that NFTs caught the eyes of eager sports enthusiasts and die-hard fans.

In fact, according to Deloitte research, around 40% of Gen Z and millennial sports fans are at least somewhat familiar with the use of NFTs and fan tokens in sports.

But why is that? And how can they boost engagement?

NFTs are rapidly emerging as a powerful tool for sports brands in driving deeper fan engagement and unlocking new revenue streams. This is because sports fans are, by nature, competitive and eager to own exclusive content from their much loved players, teams and brands. They want to be part of the action.

By playing on this feeling, and reinforcing loyalty among fans in this way, sports brands have a huge opportunity to take their revenue streams to new heights and gain a competitive advantage over other brands.

Imagine an athlete releases a limited-edition NFT that represents the most iconic moment in their career, such as the winning shot or a record breaking performance. Fans who own that NFT can then access exclusive content related to that moment including behind-the-scenes footage or interviews.

There really is no limit to these tokens, and depending on the asset, they can be much sought after. As more and more sports fans embrace the digital tokens, sports brands are quickly learning that there is huge potential for fan engagement, if they continue to innovate with this technology.

 

Taking collectibles to the 21st Century

Sports memorabilia and collectibles have for centuries been a way for fans to feel more connected to their favourite teams and athletes. And now thanks to the advances of technology – more specifically, blockchain technology – fans can collect within the digital realm, gaining access to truly “own” unique digital items and experiences.

Beyond just digital art or collectibles, NFTs can also integrate the idea of gamification, exclusive content and experiences into their NFTs – allowing fans to engage more actively while unlocking new revenue opportunities.

The possibilities are endless, extending far beyond just digital collectibles. They can provide fans with access to exclusive digital or in-person experiences, events and merch as well. Think front row seats or the chance for a meet and greet post-game.

With this, NFTs provide an excellent way for brands to diversify their revenue streams by monetising their content and intellectual property strategically.

It really is win-win, fans can own a piece of their favourite team’s history while supporting their team financially. And sports brands can benefit from more loyal fans.

 

Transforming the fan experience

Engagement is everything to sports brands. After all, the fans are really the most important stakeholders in the end. And offering NFTs can be a powerful tool in fostering deeper engagement within fan communities. NFTs provide more innovative ways for fans to connect, prove their loyalty and gain recognition for their allegiance.

Let’s look at NBA Top Shot. NBA Top Shot is the perfect example of a blockchain-based platform that allows fans to own and collect officially licensed NBA collectibles digitally. The platform offers exclusive collectibles including videos of the biggest NBA moments and highlights.

And football teams are also following suit. Manchester City, PSG, FC Barcelona have all joined in on the NFT hype – offering their own NFT collections for keen supporters such as worn jerseys, trophies and more.

 

Sports Betting and NFTs

And when it comes to sports betting, NFTs take the iGaming experience to the next level. Fans can purchase NFTs that represent specific bets, such as the winner of a particular game or the performance of a specific player. These NFTs can then be traded or sold, just like other NFTs, providing a new level of flexibility and excitement for betting.

The use of NFTs in the sports industry is still in its early stages, but has already shown great potential. We can expect more applications to come in the world of sports – including at Bets.io. Watch this space.

Looking ahead, the future is incredibly promising for sports brands who leverage NFTs within their business operations. Those who embrace these new powerful ways to inspire fans and forge deeper relationships with their communities, will see their efforts translate into business value.