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Sports-Betting Boost Expected With Texas, Oklahoma In SEC

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With the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners now in the Southeastern Conference, legal sports betting soon could jump by double digits in the region, says one bookmaker.
Starting this season, Texas and Oklahoma are in position to challenge for the SEC football championship — and championships across all SEC sports — in a collegiate conference loaded with rich traditions and annual national title contenders.
The Longhorns and Sooners joined the SEC in July. Both moved over from the Big 12.
This new conference (alignment) leads to better games for the book and better opportunities for the player,” Casey Lewless, manager of two Louisiana sportsbooks, told Gambling.com.
Legal sportsbooks in Louisiana are popular with bettors from neighboring Texas and nearby Oklahoma. Sports wagering is illegal in Texas and Oklahoma.
Because of this, the Margaritaville Resort Casino in Bossier City, Louisiana, expects to see a bump of about 30% in college wagering, Lewless said. That sportsbook already was anticipating more action because of its recent expansion.
The Margaritaville sportsbook is one of two in Northwest Louisiana that Lewless manages for Penn Entertainment. The other is at the nearby Boomtown Casino Hotel.
Lewless pointed to Texas’ rivalry years ago with the Arkansas Razorbacks in the former Southwest Conference as a matchup that will stir interest now that both are in the SEC. Sports betting is legal in Arkansas.
Also, every clash between the two Texas SEC schools — the Longhorns and Texas A&M Aggies — will stir emotions and boost sports betting in close-by states like Louisiana where wagering is legal, Lewless said.
Sports Betting Illegal In Half Of SEC States
The addition of Oklahoma into the SEC means six of the 12 states with schools in the conference do not have legal sports betting. Texas already had a school in the SEC — Texas A&M.
Those six SEC states make up the largest geographic region in the U.S. without legal sports betting. Combined, the six states have a population of more than 62 million, representing about 19% of the U.S. population.
Nationwide, sports betting is legal in 38 states and Washington, D.C.
The SEC states without legal sports betting are:
  • Texas (Texas Longhorns, Texas A&M Aggies)
  • Oklahoma (Oklahoma Sooners)
  • Missouri (Missouri Tigers)
  • Alabama (Alabama Crimson Tide, Auburn Tigers)
  • Georgia (Georgia Bulldogs)
  • South Carolina (South Carolina Gamecocks)
  • The other six SEC states have either in-person or mobile sports betting — or both. Tennessee is a mobile-only state, while Mississippi has in-person sports betting at casinos but not off-site mobile wagering.
The SEC states with legal sports betting are:
  • Arkansas (Arkansas Razorbacks)
  • Louisiana (LSU Tigers)
  • Kentucky (Kentucky Wildcats)
  • Tennessee (Tennessee Volunteers, Vanderbilt Commodores)
  • Mississippi (Ole Miss Rebels, Mississippi State Bulldogs)
  • Florida (Florida Gators)
College Football Kicks Off In August
The overall college football schedule kicks off Aug. 24, including a matchup overseas between Florida State and Georgia Tech in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, Ireland.
In the SEC, the Oklahoma Sooners, led by head coach Brent Venables, begin their season on Aug. 30 against Temple at OU’s Gaylord Family Memorial Stadium.
The SEC schedule gets fully underway over the Labor Day weekend, highlighted by an Aug. 31 contest between Clemson and Georgia in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
On that same day, the Steve Sarkisian-coached Texas Longhorns host Colorado State in Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin.
The next day’s schedule, on Sept. 1, features another SEC school, LSU, in a matchup against Southern California in the Vegas Kickoff Classic at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
SEC Divisions Abandoned
The addition of Texas and Oklahoma brings the number of teams in the SEC to 16. This season, the conference football championship will be decided between the top two teams. The 2024 SEC title game is set for Dec. 7 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
In previous years, the conference was split into two divisions, with the East and West winners battling it out for for the SEC title.
The 2024 arrangement with no divisions is a departure in the conference structure dating back more than three decades.

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BOYLE Sports signs Mark Goldbridge for World Cup watchalong series

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BOYLE Sports has agreed a World Cup content partnership with football creator Mark Goldbridge, covering the tournament from 11 June to 19 July.

The operator said the deal includes 32 branded watchalongs across Goldbridge’s football channels, including The United Stand and That’s Football. The schedule covers every England World Cup fixture, Scotland’s group-stage matches, and selected other games, starting with the tournament opener between Mexico and South Africa.

Alongside the live watchalongs, Goldbridge will produce preview content for England’s group games and a “Game Changers” social series highlighting five players ahead of each round. BOYLE Sports said product integrations will run throughout the campaign.

BOYLE Sports said the partnership follows a prior campaign during the Premier League season and was supported by media agency Miroma Founders Network. The operator also pointed to the recent appointment of Olivia Buzaglo as its football ambassador as part of its summer football content plans.

Commenting on the partnership, Gill Blake-Swift, Director of Brand at BOYLE Sports, said: “Mark Goldbridge represents everything we stand for as a brand – passion for sport, confidence in your opinions and a deep connection with fans. His ability to engage audiences in an authentic, entertaining way makes him the perfect partner for this summer’s World Cup as we continue to build our digital presence and bring fans closer to the moments that matter.”

Mark Goldbridge added: “The World Cup is the biggest stage in football and I’m delighted to be partnering with BOYLE Sports across the tournament. The watchalongs are all about bringing fans into the emotion of the game in real time, and this partnership enable us to do that across some of the biggest fixtures of the summer. From England games to the standout matches across the tournament, we’ll be giving fans reaction, opinion, debate and plenty of moments to get involved in.”

The post BOYLE Sports signs Mark Goldbridge for World Cup watchalong series appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

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Xsolla joins Gamesforum Hamburg 2026 with D2C commerce keynote and panel

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Xsolla will take part in Gamesforum Hamburg 2026 on June 9–10 at NORD EVENT Panoramadeck in Hamburg, Germany, with Jane Startseva, Vice President of Business Development, EMEA, scheduled for a keynote and a panel focused on direct-to-consumer (D2C) web shops and measurement.

On June 9 at 10:00 AM, Startseva is set to join Adam Smart, Global Director of Product – Gaming at AppsFlyer, for a 30-minute keynote titled “Web Shops and Attribution: Closing the Revenue Gap.” The session will focus on how developers track revenue performance for web shops and how attribution impacts user acquisition targets and growth planning, according to the company.

Later that day at 4:30 PM, Startseva will appear on a panel titled “The Belonging Economy: How Mobile Games Build Value Through Player Relationships” alongside Oliver Lindahl, Strategist & Behavioural Scientist at Sagely, and Pedro Alvin, Marketing Lead at Supercell. Xsolla said the discussion will cover player messaging, store optimization, new monetization opportunities, and trust in out-of-game purchase experiences.

“Being an Exclusive Global Partner of the Gamesforum series reflects how seriously Xsolla takes the European games market and the developers building here,” said Berkley Egenes, Chief Marketing and Growth Officer at Xsolla. “The shift to direct-to-consumer commerce is one of the most important things happening in this industry. Showing up at events like Hamburg, with partners like AppsFlyer, is how we help the industry move the conversation forward and build D2C businesses on a foundation video game studios and developers can actually measure.”

The post Xsolla joins Gamesforum Hamburg 2026 with D2C commerce keynote and panel appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

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Spinmatic launches Elemental Fusion Deluxe with instant Plinko bonus triggers

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Spinmatic has launched Elemental Fusion Deluxe, a new slot built around instant access to its Plinko mechanic from the base game, the supplier said. The title was announced on 9 June 2026 from Malta.

Elemental Fusion Deluxe runs on a 5×3 layout with 25 fixed paylines. Spinmatic lists the game as medium-high volatility with a 96.04% RTP and 39.49% hit frequency.

The game’s feature set includes Gold Wilds, which can appear on any reel and substitute for standard symbols (excluding the Special Plinko Symbol and the Special Element Elixir Symbols). Spinmatic also says base gameplay uses “Instant Elixir Multipliers” linked to Fire, Earth, Water, Air, and Galaxy symbols.

Instead of an accumulator-style collection mechanic, the Plinko Feature Trigger activates when three dedicated trigger symbols land on reels 1, 3, and 5, launching a random Plinko bonus. Spinmatic says the Plinko bonus is split into four elemental modes after a selection wheel sets a starting pool of 10 to 100 balls: Water Plinko (low volatility, Mini Jackpot), Air Plinko (medium volatility, Midi Jackpot), Earth Plinko (high volatility, Maxi Jackpot), and Fire Plinko (very high volatility, Grand Jackpot), played on a 16-row pyramid.

The company framed the release around reducing time-to-feature: “In a market where a split-second delay can lose a player, the quality of your content delivery determines your bottom line.”

The post Spinmatic launches Elemental Fusion Deluxe with instant Plinko bonus triggers appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

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