Latest News
FC Barcelona becomes Football for Friendship Nine Values Cup holder for second time
FC Barcelona wins the Nine Values Cup repeating the achievement of 2015 and becomes the only two-times holder of the unique football trophy. The Cup is awarded every year as part of the Gazprom International Children’s Social Programme Football for Friendship.
The Nine Values Cup is the only sports trophy in the world whose winner is determined by children. The results of the vote of the programme’s participants – Young Players and Journalists aged 10-16 from 104 countries of the world – named FC Barcelona the most socially responsible club of 2020. The Cup winner is chosen for following the Nine Values of the Football for Friendship programme: friendship, equality, fairness, health, peace, devotion, victory, traditions, and honour.
«I would like to congratulate all the people who have made this event possible since, due to the current situation of health crisis that the planet is experiencing, it has been a great success that said event has been held in such a way professional, with extreme sensitivity and transmitting a very positive energy at all times. Congratulations Organizing Committee», – notes the CEO of Soccer Barcelona Youth Academy, sports consultant for football clubs and academies and F4F ambassador Mike Puig.
From 2015, the Nine Values Cup is awarded every year to the most socially responsible football club. Over this time, the trophy was awarded to FC Barcelona (Spain), FC Bayern Munich (Germany), FC Al Wahda (Syria), FC Real Madrid (Spain), Brazilian national team, one of the participants of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, and FC Liverpool (UK).
The Nine Values Cup was created by the famous German sculptor Achim Ripperger especially for the Football for Friendship programme. The sculpture is made of aluminum and shows the figure of a young footballer holding the Earth represented as a football. The Cup symolises the future in the hands of the younger generation depending on the values this generation believes and promotes.
In 2020, the Football for Friendship held its Eighth Season, for the first time held in the online format. “It’s great that the organizers were able to hold the eighth season of the project, even if online. This year, I was entrusted with the opportunity to announce the winner of the Nine Values Cup and announce the most socially responsible football club this year. It’s FC Barcelona, I agree with the choice of the Football for Friendship participants, because, despite the pandemic, the club never stopped coming up with something for their fans, including the youngest ones”, – notes participant of the programme, Young Ambassdor from Russia, Denis Aladev.
The football club to receive the Nine Values Cup is determined in three steps. First, there is a global vote in which any club can participate. Second, a list of clubs-finalists who’ve gained the most votes is formed. Finally, Young Participants of the Football for Friendship programme vote to determine the club that has succeeded not only in sports, but also in implementing social initiatives.
This award reflects the idea that children have about good deeds; it supports and inspires professional clubs to continue doing social initiatives aimed at helping others.
Powered by WPeMatico
EGT Digital
EGT Digital Brings Operators the Ultimate Advantage Ahead of the World Cup
Having the World Cup on the horizon, sportsbook operators are once again preparing for the intense demands that come with peak sporting activity, including surging traffic, increased betting volume, and sustained operational pressure.
EGT Digital’s Sportsbook enables Operators to navigate high-demand periods with stability, flexibility, and control.
Major sports events do not introduce new challenges. They amplify existing ones. Platform performance is tested, trading teams operate under pressure, and retention becomes just as critical as acquisition.
Performance When It Matters Most
EGT Digital’s Sportsbook is designed to perform when expectations are the highest. Built on cloud-native best practices and out-of-the-box scalability, our solution empowers operators to manage peak traffic and continuous activity while ensuring stability and reliability.
Turning Traffic into Long-Term Value
While major events drive player acquisition, long-term value depends on retention. Sportsbook equips operators with a fully configurable set of promotional tools designed to sustain engagement during high-activity periods without adding operational complexity.
Features such as Adjustable Margins, Boosted Bet Builders, Dynamic Parlays, Progressive Jackpot, Early Payouts, Acca Insurance, Price Boosts, and Free Bets give operators the flexibility to tailor campaigns in real time according to player behavior and market dynamics.
Built with automation in mind, the system allows precise control across player segments, sports, and events – helping operators transform traffic spikes into sustained player loyalty.
Flexible Trading, Controlled Risk
High-volume events place trading operations under constant pressure. EGT Digital’s Sportsbook supports both managed and hybrid trading models, giving Operators the flexibility to choose the level of control and support that best fits their business.
Teams are able to manage risk effectively, protect margins, and stay focused without sacrificing the players experience and expectations even during the most demanding schedules and fixtures.
Your Brand, Your Rules.
With EGT Digital’s Next Gen AI CMS, operators can seamlessly manage every aspect of their Sportsbook’s look and behavior, tailoring the experience to specific markets without relying on one-size-fits-all solutions.
One Platform Across Channels
Player behaviour during major events is fluid, with customers moving between Online and Retail environments. EGT Digital’s Sportsbook provides a unified experience across channels, delivering one platform and one operational view.
The post EGT Digital Brings Operators the Ultimate Advantage Ahead of the World Cup appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
FIRST.bet
FIRST.bet Launches UltraCup: A Player-Engagement Engine for the World Cup
FIRST.bet introduces UltraCup: a single destination that keeps players engaged across the entire World Cup – live group standings, knockout brackets, tournament Outrights, Blind Bets on matchups before they’re even drawn, and automatic Bet Builder boosts in the slip. Everything fans need to follow and bet the tournament in one place, from the first whistle to the last.
FIRST.bet, the Tier 1 sportsbook technology provider, today launched UltraCup, a World Cup-focused sportsbook engine built to help operators own the biggest betting event in football.
The next World Cup is not a short tournament spike. It is 48 teams, 104 matches and one continuous peak with no recovery window. UltraCup is built for that reality, giving operators a complete tournament destination that keeps players engaged from the opening group match through to the final.
UltraCup connects the full World Cup betting journey in one place: live group standings, tournament-context match listings, bracket navigation from R32 to the final, dynamic outrights, Blind Bets on future matchups and automatic Bet Builder boosts inside the bet slip.
Tom Light, Founder and CEO of FIRST.bet, said:
“The World Cup is the one moment when every football fan is watching, betting and hunting for somewhere to follow it all – and most sportsbooks lose that player to a dozen rival apps. UltraCup keeps the entire tournament in one place: live standings, knockout brackets, Outrights, automatic boosts and Blind Bets on matchups that haven’t even been drawn yet. Operators capture that attention from the opening whistle and hold it all the way to the final.”
At the heart of UltraCup is a dedicated World Cup hub that mirrors how fans follow the competition. Players can track group tables, move through the knockout bracket, bet on tournament-wide markets such as Champion and Top Scorer, and engage with odds that shift dynamically as the tournament unfolds.
The product also introduces Blind Bets, allowing players to bet on future World Cup matches before the final matchup is confirmed. This turns tournament progression into the betting mechanic itself, creating suspense and repeat engagement across every stage.
UltraCup also includes Auto Boost Builder, which applies automatic odds boosts to qualifying Bet Builders directly inside the bet slip. Operators can configure boosts by sport, tournament, or league, and customer segment, with instant enable or disable controls and boost tiers of any percentage desired.
UltraCup also introduces the Welcome Bonus Boost, a new feature that allows operators to create boosted odds promotions exclusively for new customers who have not yet placed a bet. The mechanic targets the critical first-bet moment, giving operators a targeted tool to convert new registrations into active players during the tournament.
While UltraCup is being launched with a clear World Cup focus, the framework is built to live beyond one tournament. FIRST will extend the same journey into major league and tournament formats across football and other sports, giving operators a reusable engagement engine for the biggest moments on the calendar.
FIRST.bet powers 75+ live operators, 100+ partners and millions of daily transactions across LatAm, Europe and Africa. The company was named ‘Sportsbook Supplier of the Year’ at the SBC Awards 2025 and EGR LATAM Awards 2025, and ‘Best Sportsbook Provider’ at BiS SiGMA South America 2026.
About FIRST.bet
FIRST – Best in Sports is a Tier 1 sportsbook technology provider powering 75+ operators globally, including leading brands among Brazil’s top 20 by GGR. Founded by former SBTech leaders, FIRST delivers a fully managed, high-performance sportsbook engineered for speed, scale and precision across LatAm, Europe and Africa. The company holds licences from the Malta Gaming Authority and the Swedish Gambling Authority, and is GLI-33 certified and ISO-audited. FIRST was named ‘Sportsbook Supplier of the Year’ at the SBC Awards 2025 and EGR LATAM Awards 2025, ‘Best Sportsbook Provider’ at BiS SiGMA South America 2026, and received the ‘Individual Achievement Award’ at the EGR Awards 2026.
The post FIRST.bet Launches UltraCup: A Player-Engagement Engine for the World Cup appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
1win
Crypto Platform 1win Welcomes Ilia Topuria as the 1win VIP Community Member
Mexico City, Mexico, June 3rd, 2026, PlayNewswire
The international crypto entertainment platform 1win has announced the addition of Ilia Topuria to its VIP community. The signing of the contract with the fighter became publicly known on June 2, 2026.
Topuria becomes a new member of the global 1win VIP Community, the brand’s exclusive project that brings together prominent figures from sports, music, and entertainment industries. One of the most dominant fighters of his generation, Topuria remains undefeated with a professional MMA record of 17 wins and 0 losses. His excellence in sport will become a unique asset and source of inspiration for other 1win members.
The collaboration between a globally recognized brand and one of MMA’s most unstoppable fighters promises exclusive moments for fans, a closer look into the lifestyle of a true 1win VIP member, and a wave of premium entertaining content for international audiences. The expansion of the project highlights the international scale of the initiative and further strengthens 1win’s position as a brand operating at the intersection of sports, digital culture, and entertainment. Previously, famous rapper Tyga had also joined the VIP community.
On June 14, Topuria takes part in one of the year’s most highly anticipated fights – UFC Freedom 250 – a bout against Justin Gaethje that will take place during the UFC tournament at the White House. The upcoming fight has already generated significant attention from the MMA community and sports media worldwide.
1win is also widely known for its collaborations with MMA representatives and professionals in the sports industry. The brand’s ambassadors include legendary UFC fighter Jon Jones, Olympic champion and UFC fighter Gable Steveson, and Latin American athlete Ignacio Bahamondes.
About 1win
Founded in 2016, 1win is a crypto-focused platform in the global gaming industry. Operating across Asia, Latin America, and Africa, 1win offers a wide range of entertainment products adapted to regional audiences. The brand has active collaborations with international public figures, including actor Johnny Sins, martial artist Jon Jones, and Olympic champion and UFC fighter Gable Steveson. In 2026, 1win welcomed American rapper Tyga as a new member of the 1win VIP community.
Contact
Press Office
1win
The post Crypto Platform 1win Welcomes Ilia Topuria as the 1win VIP Community Member appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
-
Brasil5 days agoPara Sportradar, Copa do Mundo 2026 deve redefinir estratégias de aquisição e engajamento nas apostas esportivas
-
Blueprint Gaming6 days agoBlueprint Gaming announces The Goonies Quest for Treasure 3 slot
-
Booming Games6 days agoBooming Games launches Way of the Wolf: Hold and Win Extreme 10,000 slot
-
Coljuegos6 days agoColjuegos Authorizes MrYoker as Colombia’s Newest iGaming Operator
-
Africa6 days agoBede Gaming’s Latest Sunbet Expansion Delivers iGaming Platform to Namibia
-
Amusnet6 days agoMonte Casino Sofia Elevates its Premium Gaming Floor with Amusnet’s Type S32
-
Granny’s Wild6 days agoPlay’n GO Releases its Latest Video Slot Granny’s Wild
-
Belatra5 days agoWeekend Reels | Week 22: Slot Drops & Trends



