Latest News
Football for Friendship draws teams for this year’s Football for Friendship eWorld Championship
The 32 International Teams of Friendship for this year’s Football for Friendship eWorld Championship (eF4F), which is organised under the banner of Gazprom International Children’s Social Programme Football for Friendship, have now been drawn. Young Players from 211 countries will compete for the eF4F Championship title from 27th to 29th May.
The Open Draw was held in an online ceremony on 25th April, the International Day of Football and Friendship. The Young Ambassadors for the project, Ananya Kamboj from India, Yusuf Moazzam from Pakistan, Sheqayli Ascencion from Aruba and Alinur Gabidenuiy from Kazakhstan, drew the 32 International Teams of Friendship. The teams were organised into a total of eight groups, with each group consisting of four teams. All teams are named after endangered species to draw attention to the problem of animal extinction. Watch the Open Draw on the programme’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WtKefJnfas.
The eF4F is held on the multiplayer simulator Football for Friendship World (F4F World), which was specially developed for F4F, but available for free on MS Windows, Apple macOS, Android, iOS. Each team consists of six players, and a match runs for two halves of 3.5 minutes each. Football academies all over the world can nominate boys and girls aged 12 to 14 as players up to 1st May.
The preliminary rounds of the eF4F 2021 tournament will take place on 27th and 28th May. The final will be played on 29th May. The national F4F Ambassadors will meet for the National Ambassadors Forum in Istanbul on 29th May on the occasion of the UEFA Champions League final. At the Forum, they will discuss the development of children’s football.
Football for Friendship is aiming to achieve its third GUINNESS WORLD RECORDSTM title this year as well. The programme already has two GUINNESS WORLD RECORDSTM title was achieved for the most nationalities in a football training session and the most users in a video football hangout.
Ivan Galayev, Young Player from Latvia, 12 y.o.: Dear participants at the events of F4F 2021, welcome to the world of nine values. It was a great pleasure and a great honour for me to take part in the Football for Friendship eWorld Championship in 2020. It’s the perfect place to experience friendship, peace and enthusiasm for the game of football. I wish you good luck and lots of fun in the 2021 games. Enjoy yourselves!
Muhammad Y Jallow, Young Player from Gambia, 14 y.o.: When my father first recommended that I take part in F4F, I didn’t really understand what it all meant. But when I started to look for more information, I understood that it’s about much more than a game. In fact, its key ideas are: 1. Fair play, 2. Football should not create disharmony but forge friendships. 3. The best way to play football is to train regularly. I train really hard. When I started playing football, all my teammates were at least three times better. I started working hard on myself until I got into the first team and even became the best player in the team. I have learnt never to give up. It was like a dream come true when I found out that I can take part in this fantastic project. Thank you for everything.
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American gambling industry
Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – January 26-February 1
Welcome to our weekly roundup of American gambling news again! Here, we are going through the weekly highlights of the American gambling industry which include the latest news and new partnerships. Read on and get updated.
Latest News
ComeOn Group has launched its new marketing campaign in Ontario. The campaign underscores ComeOn Group’s long-term commitment to sustainable expansion – powered by ComeOn’s proprietary technology and a clear focus on delivering standout, personalised entertainment experiences at scale. At the centre of the campaign is a series of premium television commercials starring Jeremy Piven, a long-standing ComeOn brand ambassador. Piven’s high-energy presence and authentic connection to sports reinforce the brand’s entertainment-first positioning, bringing ComeOn’s sportsbook experience to life across TV and digital. Produced by ComeOn Group’s internal creative hub, the campaign provides a cohesive creative platform that clearly differentiates the brand in a crowded market.
Michigan commercial and tribal operators have reported a combined $399.8 million total internet gaming (iGaming) gross receipts and gross sports betting receipts in December. Gross receipts increased 19.1% compared to November. December iGaming gross receipts totaled $315.8 million, the highest to date. The previous high was $278.5 million recorded in October 2025. December gross sports betting receipts totaled $84.0 million, which is a decrease from the $87.3 million recorded in November. Combined total iGaming and internet sports betting adjusted gross receipts (AGR) for December were $357.87 million, including $296.74 million from iGaming and $61.13 million from internet sports betting — representing an iGaming increase of 27.2% and a sports betting decrease of 5.6% when compared to November 2025.
The Cordish Companies and Bruce Smith Enterprise celebrated the highly-anticipated grand opening of Live! Casino Virginia, the region’s first full-scale casino. The opening of the temporary gaming facility marks an important milestone in bringing new jobs, economic development and tourism to the region while construction advances on the permanent resort destination next door. Located just 25 miles south of Richmond and only 45 miles north of the North Carolina border, Live! Casino Virginia is conveniently off I-95 at Exit 48B. Live! Casino Virginia delivers a full-scale gaming experience 24 hours a day, seven days a week, featuring 75,000 square feet of gaming space with more than 900 state-of-the-art slot machines and over 30 live-action table games.
Partnerships
GuardDog, a responsible play innovation fund from Underdog, has announced an investment in Regen, the first platform to automatically convert entries into savings with every play. In addition to the investment, Underdog will feature Regen as a new resource in its responsible play hub, highlight Regen in customer communications from the responsible play and customer support teams as well as provide access to the platform to all of its employees. Regen allows users to link their sportsbook, fantasy sports and prediction market accounts, and automatically save a small percentage from every entry, win or loss, creating savings without changing how they play.
Table Trac Inc. has announced that the Mardi Gras Hotel & Casino located in Las Vegas, United States, Nevada, will soon have Table Trac Inc.’s CasinoTrac casino management system installed. Mardi Gras Hotel and Casino is located just steps from the Las Vegas Convention Center and Main Monorail terminal the Mardi Gras is convenient to all of the World Famous attractions of Las Vegas.
The post Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – January 26-February 1 appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Africa Bet Partners
How Traffy Cut FTD Cost in Half and Scaled Betting in Tanzania for Africa Bet Partners via Moloco Ads
This case highlights the impact of systematic optimization in Moloco Ads for the Betting vertical. Despite market turbulence in East Africa, Traffy not only maintained Africa Bet’s KPIs but also significantly improved ROI through deep, data-driven optimization.
Project Overview
Africa Bet Partners Offer: Betting
Traffic Partner: Traffy
Source: Moloco Ads (Google Play Inventory)
Geo: Tanzania (TZ)
Period: 2 months
Total Spend: ~$42,000
Final CR (Reg-to-FTD): 60%
Final CR (FTD 1-to-FTD 2): 45%
Challenge and Initial Metrics
At the launch of the campaign, the situation was challenging. The complex economic and political environment in Tanzania had a direct impact on consumer purchasing power and the stability of payment systems.
Initial Cost per FTD: $15.00
Goal: Reduce the cost of the target action to below $8 and identify scaling potential.
Optimization Strategy: What Was Done
The success of this case is the result of Traffy’s consistent work across four key areas:
1. Traffic Quality Management (Exchanges & Publishers)
Traffy conducted a comprehensive audit of publishers (placements) through which Moloco acquired inventory.
- Blacklists were created based on low deposit conversion.
- Collaboration was optimized with specific ad exchanges that demonstrated stronger Retention.
2. Creative Strategy
Traffy moved away from standard approaches and implemented a system of regular testing of new creative packs. Creative optimization significantly increased CTR and IPM, providing the Moloco algorithm with more data for learning.
3. Traffic Cleanup to Avoid Paying for Bots
- Placements with suspicious install times (CTIT) were filtered out to protect against click flooding.
- Device “farms” were identified and banned through Device ID analysis.
- Using BI tools, installs were cross-checked with real user activity. Placements with no engagement were added to the Blacklist.
4. Funnel Optimization
Through targeting optimization at the campaign level, Traffy attracted more relevant users. This led to an increase in the CR from registration to FTD up to 60%, which is an abnormally high indicator for this region.
Key Insight
Deep publisher analytics in Moloco Ads combined with category segmentation allows reducing deposit cost by more than 2x while maintaining high player quality (Retention and repeat deposits).
Result
Traffy not only met Africa Bet’s KPIs but also built a stable model for further scaling. Even in “difficult” geos, a systematic optimization approach makes it possible to achieve outstanding results. At the moment, the campaign continues to run, and user Retention (FTD 2) shows organic growth.
The post How Traffy Cut FTD Cost in Half and Scaled Betting in Tanzania for Africa Bet Partners via Moloco Ads appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Africa Bet Partners
How Traffy Cut FTD Cost in Half and Scaled Betting in Tanzania for Africa Bet Partners via Moloco Ads
This case highlights the impact of systematic optimization in Moloco Ads for the Betting vertical. Despite market turbulence in East Africa, Traffy not only maintained Africa Bet’s KPIs but also significantly improved ROI through deep, data-driven optimization.
Project Overview
Africa Bet Partners Offer: Betting
Traffic Partner: Traffy
Source: Moloco Ads (Google Play Inventory)
Geo: Tanzania (TZ)
Period: 2 months
Total Spend: ~$42,000
Final CR (Reg-to-FTD): 60%
Final CR (FTD 1-to-FTD 2): 45%
Challenge and Initial Metrics
At the launch of the campaign, the situation was challenging. The complex economic and political environment in Tanzania had a direct impact on consumer purchasing power and the stability of payment systems.
Initial Cost per FTD: $15.00
Goal: Reduce the cost of the target action to below $8 and identify scaling potential.
Optimization Strategy: What Was Done
The success of this case is the result of Traffy’s consistent work across four key areas:
1. Traffic Quality Management (Exchanges & Publishers)
Traffy conducted a comprehensive audit of publishers (placements) through which Moloco acquired inventory.
- Blacklists were created based on low deposit conversion.
- Collaboration was optimized with specific ad exchanges that demonstrated stronger Retention.
2. Creative Strategy
Traffy moved away from standard approaches and implemented a system of regular testing of new creative packs. Creative optimization significantly increased CTR and IPM, providing the Moloco algorithm with more data for learning.
3. Traffic Cleanup to Avoid Paying for Bots
- Placements with suspicious install times (CTIT) were filtered out to protect against click flooding.
- Device “farms” were identified and banned through Device ID analysis.
- Using BI tools, installs were cross-checked with real user activity. Placements with no engagement were added to the Blacklist.
4. Funnel Optimization
Through targeting optimization at the campaign level, Traffy attracted more relevant users. This led to an increase in the CR from registration to FTD up to 60%, which is an abnormally high indicator for this region.
Key Insight
Deep publisher analytics in Moloco Ads combined with category segmentation allows reducing deposit cost by more than 2x while maintaining high player quality (Retention and repeat deposits).
Result
Traffy not only met Africa Bet’s KPIs but also built a stable model for further scaling. Even in “difficult” geos, a systematic optimization approach makes it possible to achieve outstanding results. At the moment, the campaign continues to run, and user Retention (FTD 2) shows organic growth.
The post How Traffy Cut FTD Cost in Half and Scaled Betting in Tanzania for Africa Bet Partners via Moloco Ads appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
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