Latest News
ESL Gaming and Maincast extend media rights agreement for four years
ESL Gaming, the world’s leading esports company, has today announced that it will extend its exclusive collaboration with Maincast for a further four years. With the current agreement running until 2023, the addition of multiple years ensures fans in Russia and the rest of the CIS region can keep enjoying ESL Gaming’s full premium product portfolio in their local language until Intel® Extreme Masters (IEM) Katowice 2027.
As part of the extension, Maincast keeps the exclusive rights to broadcast ESL Gaming’s tournaments on its Twitch channels in Russian and other CIS languages. Moreover, the agreement covers the complete product portfolio consisting of ESL Pro Tour Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), ESL Pro Tour StarCraft® II, and ESL Mobile, as well as ESL Gaming’s competitions for Dota 2.
ESL Gaming and Maincast joined forces in 2020, and their partnership has already seen ESL Gaming’s audience in the CIS region grow vastly, and the total amount of views doubled since then. Hitting a peak of 382,000 concurrent viewers during IEM Katowice 2020, Maincast delivered some of the best numbers for CS:GO globally. Additionally, ESL One Los Angeles 2020 became the most-watched online tournament in Dota 2 on Maincast’s Twitch channels with over 13 million views. These are but a couple of the success stories that show how Maincast excels in Russian-language broadcasts.
“Maincast is one of our biggest media partners and expertly localizes our competitions to fans all over the CIS region,” said Frank Uddo, Senior Vice President Global Media at ESL Gaming. “They are great to work with and we are particularly excited to see, through this seven-year partnership, how committed they are to significantly invest in esports long-term. It is a testament to how integral esports has become within the region and we look forward to building even more success in the future with them.”
“In 2020 Maincast signed a multi-year partnership agreement with ESL Gaming to broadcast their tournaments in Eastern Europe. In this period we’ve created an industry-defining product, finished numerous projects in close collaboration and provided on-site coverage of dozens of events,” said Andrii Grygoriev, CEO and co-founder of Maincast. “We are excited to announce that our partnership with ESL Gaming is extended up till Q2 2027. We’ve already begun working on long-term projects and looking for new ways of refining and improving our product. We will do our best to give our viewers even more high-quality broadcasts and on-site content, which you’ll always be able to find on our channels.”
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Ireland
3et launches sportsbook in Ireland after securing local betting licence
3et has launched in Ireland’s regulated betting market after securing an Irish betting licence, marking the operator’s first stated move into a locally regulated jurisdiction.
The company said the launch comes ahead of a planned wider roll-out into other regulated markets in 2027. 3et positions its sportsbook around odds and limits rather than entertainment features and cross-sell.
“We’re very excited to launch in Ireland,” said Micheál Deasy, Marketing Manager at 3et. “Irish bettors know sport, they understand value, and many of them are looking for a sportsbook that gives them sharp odds and proper limits without all the noise. That is where we believe 3et stands out.”
3et said it has operated for 14 years under an Alderney licence and opened its site to the public in 2023 after initially running an invite-only model. The company added that it began the process of acquiring an Irish licence in 2025.
In Ireland, 3et said it will concentrate on markets where its model is strongest, including major US sports and top soccer competitions. The operator highlighted core betting lines such as 1X2, Asian handicaps and totals as areas where it expects to compete on odds quality and staking flexibility.
The post 3et launches sportsbook in Ireland after securing local betting licence appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
HELL Partners
Meet HELL Partners—Direct Brands, Real Flexibility, Zero Runaround
When a program calls itself HELL, it’s either extremely confident or extremely honest. In this case, it’s both.
The iGaming affiliate space is crowded with programs that all say roughly the same things: great commissions, fast payments, dedicated support. After a while, the language blurs together. HELL Partners doesn’t spend much time on that kind of noise. Instead, the program lets its structure do the talking—and the structure is genuinely worth paying attention to.
Here’s what it actually is, and why it’s worth your time.
The Brands Behind the Program
HELL Partners is a direct advertiser, not an intermediary. That distinction matters more than it might initially seem—it means no middlemen, no inflated EPC claims, and no awkward chain of communication between you and the people who actually control the offers.
The program runs three in-house brands: SlotsGem, IviBet, and HellSpin. SlotsGem is a casino-focused product built around slots and live games. IviBet and HellSpin go further—both carry a sportsbook alongside the casino offering, which means affiliates working in betting verticals have real options without having to patch together multiple programs to cover their traffic.
Three brands, with one more coming soon (Q2 2026). Two verticals. One team to talk to. It’s a cleaner setup than most.
Geography and Traffic: Fewer Walls Than You’d Expect
HELL Partners operates across 20+ GEOs in Tier 1 and Tier 2 markets, with worldwide reach available depending on the brand and offer. For affiliates, that kind of geographic flexibility is genuinely useful rather than just a bullet point on a landing page.
On the traffic side, the program accepts nearly all major sources—SEO, PPC, social, influencer, email, native, display. The list of restrictions is short, which in practice means you spend less time checking compliance and more time actually running campaigns.
The Commercial Model: Built Around Flexibility
This is where HELL Partners tends to distinguish itself most clearly. Rather than locking everyone into a single commission structure and calling it competitive, the program takes a more considered approach.
Revenue share, CPA, and hybrid deals are all on the table. More importantly, the terms are negotiated based on what you’re actually bringing—your GEOs, your traffic volumes, your source mix. If you have something specific to offer, the team will work with it rather than shoe-horn it into a standard tier.
For experienced affiliates and media buyers who already know their numbers, that flexibility isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s the difference between a deal that works and one that doesn’t.
What the Technical Side Looks Like
For webmasters who want the detail: tracking is reliable, the reporting dashboard gives you what you need to optimize in real time, and postback integration is straightforward. Payments go out on schedule. The support team is reachable and, more relevantly, useful—the kind of people who can actually move things rather than just pass messages along.
None of this is glamorous to describe, but affiliate programs live or die on exactly these mechanics. HELL Partners has them in order.
Why It’s Worth a Conversation
The affiliate programs that tend to work long-term share a few qualities: they’re backed by real products with genuine player retention, they’re flexible enough to work with partners at different stages, and they don’t treat every affiliate like a replaceable traffic source. HELL Partners fits that description.
Three proprietary brands across casino and sports. 20+ GEOs. Virtually no traffic source restrictions. Deal structures that actually flex. And a direct line to the people who control the offers.
The team will also be at iGB London soon—if you prefer to have the first conversation in person, that’s an option worth keeping in mind.
Ready to See If It’s a Fit?
The straightforward part: if you have traffic and you’re looking for a program that’s built to work with serious affiliates rather than around them—HELL Partners is worth a proper look.
Register, reach out, and find out what a deal actually looks like for your specific setup.
Your registration/contact link here https://hellpartners.com/register/?aff_id=672417&utm_source=Media&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=HIPTER&utm_term=PR
Get in touch with our manager
Anna Affiliate Manager [email protected]
Max Affiliate Manager [email protected]
The post Meet HELL Partners—Direct Brands, Real Flexibility, Zero Runaround appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
chess
Team Vitality re-signs Javokhir Sindarov for 2026–2027 chess roster
Team Vitality has re-signed chess player Javokhir Sindarov to its Chess roster for 2026 and 2027, bringing the 2025 FIDE World Cup winner back to the organisation.
The club said Sindarov is coming off a win at the 2026 Candidates Tournament, positioning him for a potential world title match against reigning champion Gukesh Dommaraju.
“We are incredibly proud to welcome Javokhir back to Team Vitality. He represents the new generation of chess: bold, ambitious, and unafraid to make big moves. His trajectory speaks for itself, and we know he has everything it takes to become the next World Champion,” said Danny Engels, Chief International Officer at Team Vitality. “This signing is a natural step in our ambition to be at the forefront of chess and esports, and to bring the game to new audiences around the world.”
Team Vitality also pointed to Sindarov’s interest in gaming—specifically Counter-Strike—as a fit with the organisation’s esports positioning. His next scheduled appearance under Team Vitality is the Chess.com Open, running April 23–26.
The post Team Vitality re-signs Javokhir Sindarov for 2026–2027 chess roster appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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