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World Pool turnover on UK and Irish racing hits HK$4.7 billion (£475 million)
Turnover on World Pool bet types on British Champions Day totalled HK$202.7 million (£21.4 million), bringing the figure for all races commingled during the 19 World Pool days in the UK and Ireland to HK$4.7 billion (£475 million).
King George Day at Ascot saw the biggest jump in turnover, rising from HK$253m to a new record of HK$287m, an increase of over 13%, while 2,000 Guineas Day as well as days one and three of Royal Ascot also posted year-on-year increases.
The overall total is only marginally down on 2022’s figure of HK$4.9bn, but still significantly up on 2021 (HK3.9 billion).
Prize money won across the 131 World Pool races in the UK and Ireland this year has hit a record high of £32 million, while the World Pool Moment of the Day initiative has seen £68,000 given out – £4,000 for each of the 17 World Pool Moment of the Day winners.
Ebbe Verhestraeten, groom of Big Rock, was awarded Moment of the Day on Saturday and he will have a chance of winning a VIP trip for four to Hong Kong next year if he is to win World Pool Moment of the Year.
Outside of the UK and Ireland, World Pool meetings in Dubai, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Australia have all posted record turnover numbers, while World Pool will be active for two further meetings in Australia: Cox Plate Day and Victoria Derby Day.
Earlier on Saturday, the Caulfield Cup broke the record for the highest turnover on a World Pool race in Australia with HK$54.24 million (AUD$10.98 million) bet into the pool, eclipsing the HKD$51.54 million (AUD$10.43 million) bet on the previous weekend’s Everest. Only two World Pool races this year – the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes and the Dubai World Cup – have had bigger pools.
In the UK and Ireland, World Pool is accessed via the Tote, at racecourses, online and via the Tote App. All customers betting directly with the Tote benefit from Tote Guarantee which ensures all Win bets will always exceed or match the industry Starting Price.
Tote value for UK and Irish customers betting into World Pool on British Champions Day:
· Tote Win beat the Industry Starting Price in 5 out of the 6 races and matched on the remaining occasions
· Tote Win overround was 112% versus an industry Starting Price of 120%
· Tote Exacta beat Forecast in 6 out of the 6 races
· Tote Trifecta beat Tricast in 5 out of the 6 races
Tote value for customers betting on the 19 British and Irish World Pool days 2023:
· Tote Win beat the Industry Starting Price in 66% of races and matched on the remaining occasions
· A £1 bet with the Tote on every winner on British and Irish World Pool days in 2023 paid £263 more than the industry Starting Price
· Tote Win overround was 109% versus an industry Starting Price of 122%
· Tote Exacta beat Forecast in 78% of races
· Tote Trifecta beat Tricast in 84% of races races where the Tricast operated
Michael Fitzsimons, Executive Director, Wagering Products of the HKJC, said: “We are really pleased with how World Pool has been received in the UK and Ireland again this year and the turnover figures look strong against a challenging economic backdrop.
“There are many more opportunities for growth in the UK and Ireland and we look forward to being able to roll out World Pool at even more of the season’s flagship race days. Having the Lockinge, the Irish Derby and the Sun Chariot as World Pool events for the first time this year worked really well, and we look forward to adding more days in the future.
“We’d like to thank all of our partners, including the UK Tote, Racecourse Media Group and Ascot Racecourse – who have all been with us since World Pool was first created in 2019 – for all their hard work in making it another highly successful season.”
Alex Frost, Chief Executive of the UK Tote, said: “We are delighted that British and Irish racing has enjoyed such a successful World Pool season in 2023. It is incredibly positive to see revenues from World Pool supporting racecourses’ investment in prize money which was at a new record of £32 million for World Pool races this year. This highlights the increasingly important role pool betting is playing the in the future sustainability of the sport.
“Following our new five-year agreement with the Hong Kong Jockey Club, making the UK Tote the exclusive partner for World Pool in the UK and Ireland, we look forward to collaborating on exciting developments, including new bet types and further improvements to the customer experience for the 2024 season.”
Martin Stevenson, Chief Executive Officer of Racecourse Media Group (RMG), which represents the media interests of The Jockey Club, Newbury, Goodwood, York, The Curragh and Leopardstown racecourses, said: “World Pool has been a hugely important initiative for British and Irish racing to grow revenues and prize money, and it’s been great to see such strong performance again in 2023.
“We’ve added three new race days to the calendar this year with the Lockinge, Irish Derby and Sun Chariot, and hopefully we’ll be able to add some more in 2024.
“It’s been a pleasure working with the Hong Kong Jockey Club, UK Tote and all of our racecourses on World Pool this season and we are already looking forward to 2024.”
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UNIVERSITY Esports UK and Ireland launches its Spring 2025 Season: learn more about the games, schedules and signups
UNIVERSITY Esports is back for its Spring 2025 Season, which is open to students from universities across the UK and Ireland and brings with it five tournaments and six weeks of action across Overwatch 2, League of Legends, Teamfight Tactics, and VALORANT. The tournaments will give students the opportunity to showcase their competitive skills against their peers, while also helping to build the grassroots gaming community – as participants play with their friends and make new ones.
This season of UNIVERSITY Esports follows high participation in the previous Winter 2024 Season, where over 600 teams and 3,000 players took part every week. UNIVERSITY Esports currently counts more than 20,000 people across more than 110 universities registered in the community.
Broadcasts of the Winter 2024 Grand Finals were produced by students from the Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies (at Nottingham Trent University), in partnership with UNIVERSITY Esports staff to support the next generation of broadcasters.
Beyond competition
UNIVERSITY Esports, a grassroots esports organiser in the UK and Ireland operated by NUEL (a subsidiary of GGTech Entertainment), is about much more than just online competition, and also plays a big role in fostering communities and providing career opportunities and education.
Winter also saw the return of the UNIVERSITY Tour, an in-person series of events aimed at raising awareness of the esports community and building real-life connections between players. Nottingham Trent University and the University of Staffordshire hosted these face-to-face activities, with hundreds of students engaged about the benefits of participating in the esports community both professionally and to have fun.
Spring 2025 Tournament schedule
Signups are now open for the UNIVERSITY Esports Spring 2025 Season, and the tournaments will take place over February and March. Winning teams will be awarded with a shared £2,550 prize pool.
Key dates are as follows:
Overwatch 2
– Signups Close: Saturday 8th February
– Games Begin: Monday 10th February
Teamfight Tactics
– Signups Close: Sunday 9th February
– Games Begin: Tuesday 11th February
Women and Non-Binary VALORANT
– Signups Close: Tuesday 11th February
– Games Begin: Tuesday 18th February
League of Legends
– Signups Close: Monday 10th February
– Games Begin: Wednesday 12th February
Open VALORANT
– Signups Close: Tuesday 11th February
– Games Begin: Thursday 13th February
To take part, players need to verify their student status (if they haven’t already in Winter), and either create or join a team. Interested players can find out more information and register at universityesports.co.uk, and on the Discord.
The post UNIVERSITY Esports UK and Ireland launches its Spring 2025 Season: learn more about the games, schedules and signups appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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GGBET UA is the official sponsor of FC Dynamo Kyiv’s winter training camp
FC Dynamo Kyiv are continuing their winter training in Turkey, in preparation for the second half of the season in 2025. Their partner for the training period this year is GGBET UA.
The club’s CEO, Dmytro Brif, thanked GGBET UA for its support and underscored the importance of the training camp for the team’s future success:
“We are hugely grateful to GGBET UA for its partnership during this important period. Today, our efforts are focused on improving our game, working on our mistakes, and getting ready for upcoming matches. In the spring, we’re set on achieving the very best results we can in all tournaments.”
GGBET UA CEO Sergii Mishchenko stated that partnering up with Dynamo involves not just working together on the winter training camp, but also continuing with larger-scale joint projects geared towards the team’s fans:
“Within the partnership, we’re actively working with the club and are planning to create exciting content featuring the players and coaches. All of this helps to reduce the distance between the professional footballers and the regular fans, which is what we’re striving to do.”
Dynamo’s next winter training camp match will take place on 6 February at 17:00 in the Turkish city of Belek. The club will be facing off against KF Shkëndija, a team from North Macedonia. A live stream will be available on Dynamo’s YouTube channel.
The post GGBET UA is the official sponsor of FC Dynamo Kyiv’s winter training camp appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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Blask integrates comprehensive licensing data
Blask, the AI-driven market analytics ecosystem, has added extensive regulated market data to its algorithm, which now analyses hundreds of reports from gambling commissions, tax authorities, industry experts and operators around the world.
The new input means Blask can deliver an accurate, multilingual, real-time picture of the regulatory situation in more than 40 iGaming markets, with many more to be added over the coming months.
By integrating verified data from regulatory bodies and gambling commissions, Blask can now provide:
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A market-by-market breakdown of local and offshore licence holders
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Tax rate insights to assess market profitability
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Advanced dashboards for strategic decision making
Max Tesla, CEO of Blask, said: “Regulated markets are evolving rapidly these days, and staying ahead requires accurate, real-time data. By integrating verified regulatory data directly into the Blask platform, we’re giving operators and other stakeholders the ability to make smarter decisions with absolute confidence. This is a huge leap forward in strategic market analysis.”
The new data has been seamlessly integrated into the Blask dashboard. Users can view details of the regulatory authority governing a market. For brands operating under local licences, Blask now features comprehensive licence information, including type and dates of issuance and expiration.
The Blask team has worked tirelessly to automate the analysis of hundreds of reports in multiple languages and from numerous different trusted sources. This includes brands that offer open data.
The post Blask integrates comprehensive licensing data appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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