Cryptocurrency
Southampton FC extends partnership with the Coingaming Group
Southampton Football Club is pleased to announce that it has agreed to extend its partnership with the Coingaming Group as Main Club Partner for a further three years in a deal that will see their brand, Sportsbet.io continue as the club’s front-of-shirt sponsor.
The deal is the biggest sponsorship agreement in the club’s history and also includes the option for the club to be paid certain performance-based bonuses in Bitcoin at the end of each season, allowing the club the opportunity to take advantage of the new, high-growth currency if it feels it will bring significant future benefits.
This partnership will allow Sportsbet.io to continue to build on the strong relationship it has built with the club and its supporters in the last year. Since becoming Main Club Partner in August 2020, when they stepped in at short notice to take over the front-of-shirt sponsorship, they have worked tirelessly with the club to create a positive impact in the local community and highlight the importance of safe betting – a duty they take extremely seriously. This work has included their ‘Listen To The Saint In You’ campaign that was launched during Safer Gambling Week, linking up with a number of Saints players to encourage fans to consider the risks before placing a bet.
They have also played a key role in the club’s launch of the Positive Impact Pledge, which enabled start-ups and entrepreneurs to apply for grants to help launch their businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Most recently Sportsbet.io also donated their shirt sponsorship to the Saints Foundation for the Premier League match against Burnley to help drive awareness of the Foundation’s fundraising efforts as they aim to raise vital funds lost due to the pandemic. This gesture alone helped the Foundation raise thousands of pounds on the day, a figure that was topped up by Sportsbet.io, who very generously donated an additional £10k.
Southampton Football Club’s Chief Commercial Officer, David Thomas commented: “The team at Sportsbet.io have built a successful business by challenging convention and disrupting the market, but in a responsible way, and their approach to our partnership with them has been no different.
“In a short timeframe they’ve proven to be innovative, forward thinking and extremely supportive of the club, our fans and the wider community, and we’ve welcomed the opportunity to develop and promote safe gambling messages together. As such they have become valued partners and we look forward to the next chapter together”
CEO of the Coingaming Group Maarja Pärt, added: “Our first season as Southampton FC’s Main Club Partner has already exceeded all expectations. We’ve been inspired by the passion of the club and its fans, and it was an easy decision for us to extend our partnership with the Saints for another three years.
“From the beginning, Southampton have been a perfect match for the fun, fast and fair way we do things at Sportsbet.io. We can’t wait to continue this journey with the Saints, and we’ll be doing everything we can to support the team and its community into the future.
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Crypto
Tequity joins Hub88 aggregator platform to accelerate operator access to Originals and Crypto Trading games
Tequity, the rising iGaming software innovator, has successfully integrated its content portfolio into Hub88’s gaming aggregation platform, providing operator partners worldwide with a streamlined route to market.
The partnership enables Hub88’s network of operators to enrich their lobbies with Tequity’s high-performance titles via a single API, allowing rapid deployment and seamless content delivery.
Hub88 clients now have access to Tequity’s Originals portfolio, featuring 17 fast-paced, streamer-friendly, and fully customisable in-house games, as well as the new Crypto Trading games series, which brings crypto market-inspired gameplay directly into the casino environment.
The integration also includes Tequity’s Publishing vertical, with Mirror Image Gaming’s Royal Drop as the first third-party title available through Hub88 distribution.
Operators benefit from a broader content mix with strong advantages in brand control and operational confidence. Extensive customisation options allow partners to tailor game look, feel, and UI, all supported by a robust, engineering-led infrastructure designed for global scale and performance.
Dominic Sawyer, VP of Growth at Tequity, said:
“Hub88 is an ideal distribution partner for studios and operators building for scale. This onboarding makes Tequity content more accessible across Originals, Crypto Trading games, and Publishing, with a focus on fast rollout and full brand control. We have several operator partners scheduled to go live in the coming weeks.”
Ollie Castleman, Managing Director of Hub88, added:
“We are excited to onboard Tequity to our platform. Their Originals, Crypto Trading, and Publishing content provide our operator partners with a diverse, differentiated game offering and a simple, efficient path to launch.”
The post Tequity joins Hub88 aggregator platform to accelerate operator access to Originals and Crypto Trading games appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Compliance Updates
Crypto.com Receives Limited Financial Institutions Licence in Europe
Crypto.com has announced another regulatory milestone: its EU MiCA regulated entity has received a Limited Financial Institutions licence from the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA). The approval allows the company to continue delivering its full suite of stablecoin services – qualifying as payment services – across the European Union, without disruption.
This additional licence is for the provision of services exclusively in relation to electronic money tokens (EMTs). The licence was acquired to navigate a complex regulatory landscape resulting in overlapping crypto asset services (MiCA) and payment services (PSD2). By securing the Limited Financial Institution Licence, Crypto.com has addressed both regulatory regimes ensuring full compliance across every aspect of its stablecoin operations.
Crypto.com’s Malta entity received MiCA approval in January 2025, allowing the company to passport services across the European Economic Area (EEA). Notably, Crypto.com already holds a full Electronic Money Institution (EMI) licence in Europe, making it one of the most comprehensively authorised platforms operating in the region.
“We are one of the most regulated crypto platforms in the world and receiving this licence proves, yet again, that we are committed to working with authorities to ensure the strongest compliance standards. Our stablecoin business and services remain a pivotal part of our European product offering so it was vital we secured this limited licence to continue providing seamless access to our institutional and retail customers,” said Eric Anziani, President and Chief Operating Officer at Crypto.com.
The limited Financial Institutions licence adds to Crypto.com’s expanding list of licences and registrations globally including, but not limited to, a UK Electronic Money Institution licence (FCA), a Major Payment Institution licence in Singapore (MAS), a Virtual Assets Service Provider licence in Dubai (VARA), U.S. Money Transmitter Licences, U.S. Designated Contracts Market (DCM) & Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO) licences and recently conditional approval from the U.S. OCC for a National Trust Bank Charter.
The post Crypto.com Receives Limited Financial Institutions Licence in Europe appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Crypto
UK To Explore Crypto Gambling Framework
Legal crypto gambling could be coming to the UK after the country’s regulator announced on Thursday (Feb 26) that it will begin working on new rules to support the sector.
Gambling Commission executive director Tim Miller revealed in a speech this week that regulatory officials have concluded allowing licensing operators to transact in crypto is likely a wise move.
Responding to growing demand for gambling with cryptocurrencies, and undeniable evidence that consumers are turning to the black market in search of crypto-friendly operators, Miller said the process was already underway.
Characterising the project as “tentative” and promising no timelines or outcomes, Miller nevertheless said he had instructed the commission’s Industry Forum to begin work on detailing how crypto gambling could be regulated in the UK.
The Forum is composed of industry figures from the online and retail sectors, including representatives from Flutter and Rank Group.
Addressing the Betting and Gaming Council AGM on Thursday, Miller said: “There will be significant challenges and risks to overcome in considering this topic but I am keen that we approach this in the spirit of exploring the art of the possible, rather than starting from a position of finding all the reasons not to innovate.”
Recent work undertaken by the Gambling Commission to try and understand why gamblers choose to leave the regulated market and gamble offshore has identified a desire to bet with crypto as the second-largest motivator.
One UK legal expert told EEGaming that the project was “long overdue”.
“A credible, regulated pathway would be a more effective consumer protection tool than de-facto prohibition if it reduces displacement offshore, which invariably it would,” said Chris Elliot, a partner at Wiggin law firm in London.
Elliot noted that the commission does not appear to be proposing specific “crypto licences”, but is instead “exploring a framework under which UK-licensed operators could accept crypto as a consumer payment option”.
Regulators in partnership
The Commission’s renewed willingness to consider allowing crypto gambling is also being driven by more secure legislative foundations that are set to come into effect in the UK.
Miller pointed to the “Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) Regulations 2025”, which was presented by the government in December.
The new statutory instrument would regulate more uses of crypto-assets by establishing a series of regulatory frameworks.
This comes as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is itself consulting on new rules for crypto in the UK.
This work will form the bedrock of any efforts by the Gambling Commission to loosen crypto gambling rules, Miller said.
It may also provide some clues as to the timeline of any crypto-liberalisation by the commission, Elliot noted.
“If the FCA authorisation regime is phased in over a longer period, mainstream adoption in UK gambling could be correspondingly slow,” he warned.
“That said, existing AML registration requirements for crypto-asset service providers already provide some baseline assurance, which could support earlier experimentation if the commission is serious about tackling black-market growth.”
Fraud on the brain
Regulatory sources who spoke to EEGaming pointed to the role the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) may be playing in accelerating crypto regulation.
The international money laundering watchdog — which has had notable interventions in the gambling market over recent years through its temporary greylisting of Malta and Gibraltar — has told national governments they should be regulating crypto providers, not trying to prohibit their use in the legal economy.
The UK is scheduled to undergo an assessment by the FATF in 2027.
That provides an extra impetus for the UK to have its crypto regulations in order, but allowing digital assets to flow into the economy more readily, especially via gambling, brings added risks.
“Like any new payment method, it will introduce new fraud/AML typologies,” explained Elliot. “But ‘new’ doesn’t automatically mean ‘higher’. In some respects, crypto can support a more robust control environment than fiat payments, particularly where cash is involved,” he noted.
“Operators wishing to drive this agenda will need to be able demonstrate, with evidence, why these risks can be managed through the controls put in place,” he said.
Crypto revolution?
Although the UK Gambling Commission is only at the beginning of this process, Miller’s announcement is sure to have an impact internationally, particularly at some of the European regulators with which it shares close ties.
EEGaming asked the Netherlands Gambling Authority, which signed a new memorandum of understanding with the commission in November, whether it would now be considering a crypto-revolution of its own.
“Although the KSA thinks allowing crypto payments might help battle illegal offering, there are too many complications right now to just go along with it,” a spokesperson said.
“We are looking into this for the future.”
The post UK To Explore Crypto Gambling Framework appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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