Latest News

Revealed: worst areas in England for gamers during lockdown

Published

6 years ago

June 3, 2020

George Miller

Reading Time: 4 minutes

South West bottom of the pile for broadband speeds, with five of the ten areas where gamers are most likely to disrupt gameplay
Cities of London and Westminster the worst area for access to superfast broadband
Kingston Upon Hull ranks the highest for the best place to play video games online based on average speeds and availability of superfast broadband

New research from comparethemarket.com reveals the areas in England that are the worst for gamers, with gameplay in Central Devon the most likely to be disrupted due to poor broadband speeds.

The research analyses the average download speed (Mbps), superfast broadband availability and the percentage of households’ ability to receive decent broadband.

Gamers based in the South West score the least points when it comes to connection speed, with five out of the top ten worst hit areas in England. With Central Devon having the dubious distinction of being the worst in the country, Torridge and West Devon, Forest of Dean, Somerton and Frome, and Tiverton and Honiton all suffer disruption from poorer broadband speeds.

Some may be surprised to see the Cities of London and Westminster ranked the 10^th worst constituency for gamers overall. When it comes to access to superfast broadband, this area takes the last place out of all areas, with a quarter unable to access the very fastest connection. By comparison, in Luton North and Leicester West, superfast broadband availability is 100%.

Kingston Upon Hull is hailed as the best place for gamers, ranking top in the country for average speeds and the availability of superfast broadband. Less than 2% of the area’s households have access to decent broadband. Other cities areas that rank highly for gamers include Grimsby, Gillingham and Rainham in the South East, and Nottingham North in the East Midlands.

Top 10 – England’s worst areas for gamers

Rank	Area Name	Region	Average speed (MBPS)	Superfast availability	Unable to receive decent broadband
10	Cities of London and Westminster	London	34.41	75%	0%
9	Somerton and Frome	South West	42.75	82%	10%
8	Harwich and North Essex	East of England	37.06	83%	9%
7	Tiverton and Honiton	South West	31.89	81%	9%
6	North Herefordshire	West Midlands	35.09	80%	9%
5	Penrith and The Border	North West	36.01	81%	12%
4	Ludlow	West Midlands	33.09	81%	11%
3	Forest of Dean	South West	31.61	79%	10%
2	Torridge and West Devon	South West	34.01	81%	12%
1	Central Devon	South West	34.05	77%	12%

Top 10 – England’s best areas for gamers

Rank	Area Name	Region	Average speed (MBPS)	Superfast availability	Unable to receive decent broadband
1	Kingston upon Hull East	Yorkshire and The Humber	137.44	99%	1%
2	Kingston upon Hull North	Yorkshire and The Humber	132.15	100%	1%
3	Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle	Yorkshire and The Humber	122.24	99%	2%
4	Crawley	South East	88.40	99%	0%
5	Filton and Bradley Stoke	South West	93.49	98%	1%
6	Luton North	East of England	84.10	100%	0%
7	Morecambe and Lunesdale	North West	87.70	99%	0%
8	Great Grimsby	Yorkshire and The Humber	89.56	98%	1%
9	Stevenage	East of England	86.93	99%	0%
10	Gillingham and Rainham	South East	86.61	99%	0%

Holly Niblett, head of digital at comparethemarket.com, commented:

“Lockdown has seen a surge in the number of people relying on the internet for work and leisure. There is a wide disparity in the connection speeds and access to superfast broadband across the country, with people facing a particularly hostile environment in parts of the south west. For many, a reliable internet connection is a lifeline during a difficult time.

“Our new speed-test tool allows people to see how fast their broadband speed is and what better deals and speed is available in their area, because for many households, a fast download speed is a deal-breaker when it comes to choosing a provider. Perhaps unsurprisingly, we have seen a steep rise in the number of customers switching online to the fastest packages during isolation.”

comparethemarket’s tips for improving your broadband speed:

1. Test the speed of your broadband connection

You can run a speed test on comparethemarket’s new speed-checker tool, which enables users to check how long it will take to download a film or game in their area: http://www.comparethemarket.com/broadband/speed-test You’ll be shown both your download and upload speeds.

2. Move your router away from other devices

Keep your router as far away as possible from other electrical equipment and devices that emit wireless signals, such as cordless phones, baby monitors and computer speakers. Try to place your router on a table or shelf rather than on the floor and keep it switched on.

3. Turn off WiFi on devices you’re not using

If you have multiple devices such as tablets and smartphones running in the background, it can slow down your broadband, so try switching WiFi off on these when you’re not using them. You should also avoid carrying out data-heavy tasks like HD streaming, gaming or video calls at the same time as others in your household.

4. Give your computer a spring clean

There are many applications on your PC that could affect your broadband speed, some without you even realising it. A few simple quick fixes include making sure your anti-virus software is up to date, making sure you’re using the latest version of your web browser, such as Chrome, Firefox or Microsoft Edge and clearing your cache and browser history.

For more information on the research, please go to: https://www.comparethemarket.com/broadband/content/best-cities-in-england-for-gamers/

Methodology:
The following table reveals the areas of England where gamers are most likely to disrupt gameplay due to bad broadband speeds.

Data taken directly from the source are in the columns titled Area name, Region, Average speed (MBPS), Superfast availability and unable to receive decent broadband.

To calculate the index we first normalised the data categories individually from 0 to 1 and then summed the results.

On this scale, for

Average speed – The higher index would be weighted closer to 1 – detailed in the average speed weighting column
Superfast availability – The higher index is weighted closer to 1 – detailed in the superfast weighting column
Unable to receive decent broadband – The higher index is weighted closer to 0 – detailed in the Decent broadband weighting column

Total and rankings were determined by the above.

Bet builder

GG.BET launches Bet Builder for a new way to bet

Published

15 hours ago

December 3, 2025

George Miller

gg.bet-launches-bet-builder-for-a-new-way-to-bet

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Customers can now use Bet Builder, a format that lets them build their own set of markets on one match into a single bet with higher odds. Bet Builder is available for both esports and sports events. You can try out the new feature with a deposit bonus of up to 150% and a free bet worth up to $50.

Customers can now place a combined bet on a single match by picking various options for how events in the match will play out. For example, in CS2, customers can choose which team will win on a specific map, how many kills a specific player will rack up, how many rounds will be played on a single map, and so on.

To place a Bet Builder bet, pick an event that hasn’t started yet, press the ‘Bet Builder’ button, put together your selection of markets from those available, get higher combo odds, and finish placing the bet in one click. At this initial stage, GG.BET is offering Bet Builder on football, basketball, hockey, CS2, Dota 2, LoL, and VALORANT, with more sports and disciplines to be added down the line.

“GG.BET has always been known for embracing unconventional markets and elaborate betting options. Bet Builder is there to meet customer demand for more interesting formats in a single match. The ability to make predictions right down to a specific round and any other tiny detail of a match is what gives users variety and improves their skills,” the GG.BET press office explained.

GG.BET is offering customers the opportunity to test out the Bet Builder format with a deposit bonus of up to 150% and a free bet of up to $50.

The post GG.BET launches Bet Builder for a new way to bet appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Battle of the Tribes

POLYTOPIA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2025 BREAKS RECORD PARTICIPATION AS FINALS DRAW CLOSER

Published

18 hours ago

December 3, 2025

Wladimir P.

polytopia-world-championship-2025-breaks-record-participation-as-finals-draw-closer

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Celebrated strategy game The Battle of Polytopia confirms its first ever World Championships has exceeded expectations with over 10,000 sign-ups in its qualifying rounds. While no stranger to tournaments, previously hosting smaller scale, local tournaments called ‘Polysseums’, developer Midjiwan’s first step into global esports has been met with extreme success. The inclusive esports event has a $10,000 prize pool and will conclude on 6 December 2025, 14:00-21:00.

The finals will take place in front of a live-studio audience, with expert commentary and a chance to peek behind the scenes at Midjiwan itself. First place will receive $4,000, the runner-up will take away $2,000, the third and fourth place finishers will get $1,500, and the fifth and sixth place $500.

The Polytopia World Championship 2025 is being hosted by eSports platform, Challengermode, who Midjiwan has relied on for its monthly local tournaments since 2022. Midjiwan also partnered with Black Molly Entertainment to help organise and manage the event. Black Molly Entertainment have years of experience managing eSports tournaments, with notable events including the Geoguesser World Cup and CS:GO Pinnacle Cup Championship.

Midjiwan has worked closely with its community to ensure engagement is high with each round, building a bespoke ‘Spectator Mode’ into the game so fans can watch each game live through the game itself. In the spectator mode the viewer has visibility of all players simultaneously, with stats on how many cities, technologies, kills and more available for quick access.

Christian Lovstedt, CEO of Midjiwan commented:
“Polytopia has always been about welcoming all kinds of players into the world of 4X strategy. That’s why our championship is open to everyone – not just pros with sponsors. We’ve been thrilled at the amount of interest this tournament received from our community, reaching participation numbers way beyond our expectations. We’re excited to bring the finalists to Stockholm and can’t wait to see the strategies that emerge.”

The Polytopia World Championship 2025 kicked off in September, with its ‘Battle of the Tribes’ qualifying round – weekly battles where players competed to be the best in each of the game’s 12 tribes. After an exciting six weeks, the top player from each tribe faced-off, reducing the qualifiers to six finalists. These six winners are listed down below.

Tribe	Qualifying Player
IMPERIUS	ArthurL248
BARDUR	slimmingboy
OUMAJI	Dreamlander3000
HOODRICK	Theetat
XIN-Xi	LeLiberateur
LUXIDOOR	Meisterlampe

Recaps of each round of the tournament prior to the finals can be watched on the official Battle of Polytopia YouTube channel.

Part 1: Polytopia World Championship 1st Qualifiers Wrap-Up – BARDUR, IMPERIUS, KICKOO, ZEBASI
Part 2: Qualifiers Wrap-Up – Oumaji Hoodrick Yadakk & Quetzali – World Champoinship 2025
Part 3: Final Qualifiers Wrap-Up – Xin-Xi, Luxidoor, Ai-Mo & Vengir – World Championship 2025
Face-off stream: https://youtube.com/live/GnU6mWPoJiY?feature=share

To watch the finals live on December 6,visit here: https://polytopia.io/stream/

To stay up to date on the Polytopia World Championship 2025, or purchase one of the limited tickets for the live event, visit the official website or join the Official Polytopia Discord.

The post POLYTOPIA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2025 BREAKS RECORD PARTICIPATION AS FINALS DRAW CLOSER appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Latest News

Second Prize Drop of N1 Puzzle Promo: Top Affiliates Score Porsche, Cartier, Leica & Apple for Driving High-Quality Traffic

Published

19 hours ago

December 3, 2025

Master Editor

N1 Partners is wrapping up the second lottery of the N1 Puzzle Promo! From September 1 to November 30, partners were actively collecting puzzle pieces for FTDs and climbing the rankings to secure their place among the winners.

A notable trend this season: the Top-5 leaders by traffic and collected puzzles differ from the main leaderboard. This means some partners slowed down, while others pushed harder — and now have every chance to boost their position in the overall standings by the end of the promo.

Five luxury prizes will be awarded to partners with consistently strong performance who entered the Top-5 by puzzle count during the second mini-lottery period.

Which prizes did the leaders receive?

1st place — MacBook Pro

C*** *****h

2nd place — Porsche eBike Sport

A***********t

3rd place — Cartier Santos Medium watch

T****** ****d

4th place — Leica Q2 camera

P******k

5th place — Apple Vision Pro

S** ****s

“The promo is entering its final stretch — a crucial checkpoint for the entire N1 Puzzle Promo, where the fate of the leaderboard may be decided,” notes Alexa Bond, Head of Affiliates at N1 Partners. “With one month left until the end, even those who joined later still have a chance to make a breakthrough, while the leaders can strengthen their positions and widen the gap. N1 Puzzle Promo isn’t about luck — it’s about consistent work and mutual trust between partners and the affiliate program.”

The Grand Finale in Barcelona Is Getting Closer

The race continues: the more puzzle pieces collected throughout the promo, the higher the ranking — and the greater the chance to fly out of Barcelona in your very own helicopter!

On January 20, 2026, in Barcelona, during iGB Affiliate and ICE, N1 Partners will host the final N1 Puzzle Promo party, where winners will receive exclusive gifts — and the grand prize: a Robinson R22 Beta II helicopter.

Guests of the event can also expect:

Exclusive prize ceremony;
Live performance by top artists and the evening’s headliner (announcement coming soon)!
Activities and surprises from the N1 Partners team;

Still Not Too Late to Join

N1 Puzzle Promo runs until December 31, 2025, and partners still have time to collect puzzle pieces, climb the leaderboard, and compete for the grand prize and additional rewards. Traffic from Tier-1 GEOs counts toward the ranking, and only registered N1 Partners partners can participate.

All details and registration are available at: https://n1.partners/puzzle_promo

There’s still time! Collect your puzzle pieces, level up in the leaderboard — and your team might be the one taking home the Robinson R22 Beta II right off the stage in Barcelona!