eSports

Halls and Virtus.pro announce partnership

Published

4 years ago

April 26, 2021

Reading Time: 2 minutes

VMLY&R (part of WPP), Carat and The Story Lab (part of dentsu Russia) agencies continue to develop the esports direction for Halls (Mondelez International). The cooperation with ESforce, the largest esports organization in Russia, opens a new page for the brand cooperation.

Halls will be integrated into Virtus.pro media resources (part of ESforce).

The creative idea of the esports campaign was developed by the VML&R agency. The integration ideas were developed by The Story Lab together with ESforce. The media support is provided by Carat agency. As part of the cooperation, a promotional video has been prepared with the first Dota 2 roster. The video will be published on the club’s official YouTube channel. Within six months, Virtus.pro accounts will host posts with integrations of Halls brand, banners, articles on the site, etc.

Anna Semchuk, Senior Brand Development Manager: “For more than 120 years, the Halls brand’s mission has been to help the world breathe better. A charge of menthol in each pack is a crisp breath of air, an opportunity to focus on the moments that matter. Halls gives you a boost of concentration so you can get the most out of the game. The creative idea is ”Nothing will distract you from winning if you are charged with concentration with Halls” – perfectly reflects the new brand positioning”.

Alexander Mishutin, Director of Customer Relations at Carat: “The project’s goal was to strengthen the brand’s positioning among the young audience, where esports is an important communication channel. Such cooperation is interesting and promising for Halls in terms of engagement, increasing loyalty and the chance of attracting a new audience. The key message of the campaign, “Increase your concentration and win prizes for the best game together with Halls and Virtus.pro!”, will be supported on YouTube, VK and other resources with videos engaging Virtus.pro players”.

Sergey Glamazda, Virtus.pro General Manager: “ESforce Holding has been cooperating with the Mondelez brands for a long time. Joint projects have repeatedly shown their effectiveness and this time Halls brand becomes a Virtus.pro partner. I am pleased to welcome Halls and I am confident that our collaboration will resonate with the esports audience.”

Evgeny Podergin, Senior Copywriter VMLY&R: “The simple truth is: as you get down to the game, so you will make it. For esports players, mood and concentration before a match are as important as for traditional sportsmen. When hundreds of important things are happening on the screen in front of you every minute, you have no option to lose focus. This is the essence of our campaign and the main thing of Halls RTB. Thanks to menthol, our drops can really help you focus at the right moment, take a deep breath, exhale and throw yourself into the game without any distraction, which can prevent you from victory.”

In 2020, Halls brand has already sponsored an esports championship. Within the framework of the project, Carat agency appreciated the effectiveness of esports integrations. According to the study, Halls brand video was remembered by more than 50% of the audience, while the benchmark for FMCG brands here is only 32%. In addition to the record values, the experts of Carat revealed a loyal attitude of the esports audience to advertising integrations.

BETER

BETER Teams Up with FIRST

Published

2 days ago

October 1, 2025

George Miller

Reading Time: 2 minutes

In-demand fast-betting content provider brings its esports and sports products to a Tier-1 sportsbook supplier

BETER, the award-winning provider of fast-betting content and data for esports and sports, has entered into a strategic partnership with FIRST – Best in Sports, a Tier-1 sportsbook supplier.

Through this collaboration, FIRST will integrate fan-favorite ESportsBattle tournaments, initially taking eFootball and eBasketball, as well as world-renowned Setka Cup table tennis tournaments.

BETER delivers 24/7 live streaming, real-time data, and hyper-accurate odds for approximately 700,000 fast-paced events each year, offering up to 50 markets per event with an average operator margin of 7.5%+.

Its esports portfolio includes ESportsBattle tournaments, featuring eFootball, eBasketball, eHockey, and the recently launched eTennis. Its sports portfolio features the Setka Cup table tennis series, BSKT Cup basketball league, GTR Cup tennis tournaments, Padel tennis, as well as coverage of official cricket tournaments and leagues worldwide.

BETER ensures the highest standards of fairness and transparency across its content offerings, backed by collaborations with ESIC and IBIA.

FIRST – Best in Sports delivers a fully managed, high-performance sportsbook engineered for speed, scale and precision. With sportsbook specialization at its core, FIRST helps operators in LatAm, Europe and Africa compete at the highest level from day one, combining sharp pricing and risk, deep trading expertise, regional insight, and rapid rollout to accelerate performance.

Both companies were recognized among the best at the recent SBC Awards ceremony, with BETER receiving the Silver Award in the Live Betting Product category, while FIRST was named Sportsbook Supplier of the Year.

Gal Ehrlich, CEO of BETER, said: “The partnership between BETER and FIRST brings together two pioneering providers committed to delivering next-generation betting experiences.

“FIRST has launched our collaboration by integrating a suite of our most popular products—EsportsBattle for esports and Setka Cup for sports—both proven to engage players and deliver the fast-betting thrills they seek.

“This is a great partnership, and our teams are looking forward to a fruitful collaboration.”

Tom Light, CEO of FIRST, added: “BETER’s fast-betting portfolio fits exactly what FIRST was built for: a high-performance sportsbook crafted by specialists.

“Together, we give operators a direct route to Tier-1 competitiveness, faster time-to-market, higher player engagement, and the confidence to go head-to-head with the biggest brands across LatAm, Europe and Africa from day one.”

The post BETER Teams Up with FIRST appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Aquisitions/Mergers

GRID Acquires Bayes Esports Assets

Published

1 week ago

September 23, 2025

George Miller

Reading Time: < 1 minute

GRID, a game data and technology platform, has acquired the intellectual property assets of Bayes Esports following the company’s liquidation proceedings and will integrate the technology into its GRID Bet division.

The acquisition integrates strategic technology components developed by Bayes over nearly a decade, including live data trading solutions, prediction models, and fan engagement tools, into the GRID Data Platform. These technologies will now be powered exclusively by official esports data available only on GRID, accelerating product development and driving innovation across GRID’s entire portfolio, with a particular focus on GRID Bet, the company’s comprehensive solution for regulated esports betting.

“The acquisition of Bayes assets further accelerates GRIDs capabilities to create value for rights holders in esports and shape the next phase of esports betting in particular,” said Moritz Maurer, Founder & CEO of GRID.

The post GRID Acquires Bayes Esports Assets appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

BETBY

BETBY CELEBRATES SUCCESS AT SBC SUMMIT LISBON 2025 WITH ESPORTS SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR AWARD

Published

2 weeks ago

September 22, 2025

George Miller

betby-celebrates-success-at-sbc-summit-lisbon-2025-with-esports-supplier-of-the-year-award

Reading Time: < 1 minute

BETBY, a Tier 1 sportsbook supplier, successfully concluded an impactful presence at SBC Summit Lisbon 2025, where its booth became a central hub for clients, partners, and industry professionals. The summit served as a powerful platform for the company to spark new connections, exchange ideas, and engage in discussions on the latest trends shaping the global betting and gaming industry.

Positioned as “the global gaming and betting industry comes to do business,” SBC Summit provided the ideal stage for BETBY to showcase its cutting-edge sportsbook technology and innovative solutions. Visitors to the BETBY booth experienced first-hand the company’s latest tools designed to empower operators with robust, scalable, and future-proof technology.

The highlight of the event came as BETBY was honoured with the prestigious Esports Supplier of the Year Award. This accolade reflects the company’s unwavering commitment to delivering innovative, reliable, and high-performing solutions that address the evolving needs of sportsbook operators worldwide.

“Being recognised as Esports Supplier of the Year at the SBC Summit is an incredible achievement for our team,” said Leonid Pertsovskiy, CEO at BETBY. “It validates our focus on pushing technological boundaries and our mission to create solutions that bring real value to operators and their players. SBC Summit not only provided BETBY with the opportunity to highlight its achievements but also reaffirmed its position as an industry leader driving innovation in sportsbook technology.”

As BETBY looks ahead, the company is already preparing for its next major industry showcase at the SiGMA Europe Summit in November 2025, which for the first time will be held in Rome. There, BETBY will once again present its cutting-edge tools, insights, and expertise to operators across the globe.

The post BETBY CELEBRATES SUCCESS AT SBC SUMMIT LISBON 2025 WITH ESPORTS SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR AWARD appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.