Latest News
Roberto Carlos exclusive: the Global Ambassador for Football for Friendship answers the questions of Young Participants from all over the world
The former Brazilian international, three-time winner of the Champions League and Global Ambassador of the Gazprom International Children’s Social Programme Football for Friendship (F4F), Roberto Carlos, spoke in an exclusive press conference with Young Players and Young Journalists about his life, his career and his support for F4F.
Roberto Carlos won the World Cup with the Brazilian national team in 2002. He also won the UEFA Champions League title three times (1998, 2000 and 2002) with Real Madrid as well as numerous national league championship titles. Currently, he is working as a youth coach at Real Madrid. Since 2020 he has also been a Global Ambassador for Football for Friendship. He has supported the programme since 2019, when he presented the winners of the F4F World Championship the cup at the closing events in Madrid, having taken part in other important highlights of the tournament as well.
In an online press conference at the end of May, he answered a wide range of questions from Young Players and Young Journalists with charm and wit. The topics ranged from the highlights of his career to his relationship with his family, his native country Brazil, and his support for Football for Friendship.
Asked about his most famous goal, Roberto Carlos couldn’t suppress a smile at first because, as he explained, he is often asked this question. But he then went on to mention his free kick against France on 3rd June 1997 at the Tournament of France in the 21st minute of the game and also his spectacular goal against CD Teneriffa on 21st February 1998. He also explained that the derby match between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona had always been a highlight. He said that the Brazilian national team of 2002 and Real Madrid with its galacticos were his favourite teams, and argued that whether or not football was becoming more and more commercialised depended a lot on the actual club. Overall, football would continue to develop both technically and tactically.
He told David Sargent from Ireland that it was true that he had been named after the famous Brazilian singer Roberto Carlos Braga. It had been the wish of his father, whose favourite singer this was. He, Roberto Carlos, was a great admirer of the Brazilian singer Alexandre Pires. He explained that his family had been poor and that, when he was twelve, he had wanted to become a lawyer. But then everything had quickly turned out differently: a football career in Brazil, the national team and an invitation to play in Europe. He said that his family had always supported him, particularly his father, who had played football himself. And, of course, it had been painful to leave his family when he was just 13 years old.
Kinley Deki Yangzom from Bhutan asked him what he would do differently. He replied that everything had gone well and had helped him to develop personally and professionally. He told Miriam Sheahan from Ireland that he had never been afraid. But of course he had had dreams, for example to be able to build his parents a house.
In his view, respect towards others, and good, friendly behaviour – towards one’s opponent as well – were important qualities. He told Dominic Kramberger from Sweden that teamwork was an important precondition for success. And his answer to the question from Xuance Li, a Young Journalist from China, was that, because he himself had always behaved properly towards others, he had never been offended by anyone. Mihajlo Nasik, a Young Journalist from Serbia, played Roberto Carlos a serenade on his piano and then asked him about his creative hobbies. Roberto answered that he didn’t have any special talents and that his life was taken up with football 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Doro Yusupov from Tajikistan wanted to know what, in his view, were typical traditions in Brazil. The football star’s answer was good fortune, good food, respect for one’s family and the desire to spend the weekend with one’s family. Aahana Kamboj from India observed that Brazil had so many good footballers and asked whether it was to do with a particular kind of sand on the beaches there. Carlos replied that he had lived in India for some time and had a great love for the country. He went on to explain that the sand on the beaches most certainly wasn’t the reason why Brazil had so many good footballers. Quite simply, the people in his country played football everywhere and everyone wanted to become a star.
What he found good about Football for Friendship was that so many Young Players and Young Journalists meet up and can interact with one another. He thanked the young people for their many interesting questions and wished them all every success.
The 9th season of Football for Friendship is taking place in an online format from 14th to 29th May 2021. This year, F4F is bringing boys and girls together from more than 200 countries and regions. Young Players aged 12 are taking part in the 2021 Football for Friendship eWorld Championship (eF4F). The competition is being played on “F4F World”, the football simulator, which is available free of charge in 27 languages on MS Windows, Apple MacOS, Android and iOS.
Young Journalists report in the International Children’s Press Centre on the events in the 9th season of Football for Friendship and share with their friends the most important values in the programme: friendship, equality, fairness, health, peace, devotion, victory, traditions, and honour.
You can watch the video of this press conference by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mi6qD7wkhWA.
Aahana Kamboj, India: “I really enjoyed the session with Football for Friendship Global Ambassador, Roberto Carlos, where the Young Journalists from different countries asked questions related to his football career. Even I got the opportunity to ask a question. According to Roberto, teamwork is the key to success, and everyone must follow this rule to be successful in life.”
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Compliance
DraftKings renews multi-year geolocation deal with GeoComply
DraftKings has renewed a multi-year agreement with GeoComply to continue providing real-time geolocation and compliance services, the companies said.
The extension comes after DraftKings’ Super App launch, a unified platform approach that lets customers access either sportsbook or sports predictions depending on their location. The press release positions the renewal as supporting scale, fraud controls, geolocation and compliance requirements tied to that rollout.
GeoComply said its geolocation signals are embedded into DraftKings’ internal risk workflows, including step-up authentication and automated decisioning. The vendor said it processes 2.5 billion checks a month across its platform.
Under the extended agreement, the companies said GeoComply will continue to support DraftKings with dedicated forward-deployed engineering support.
“The operators winning this next cycle are treating geolocation intelligence as critical trust infrastructure,” said Kip Levin, CEO of GeoComply. “DraftKings has done that for years. This extension reflects how seriously they take the architecture behind player trust—and it’s what lets them keep moving fast on everything else.”
The post DraftKings renews multi-year geolocation deal with GeoComply appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Brazilian License
Groove Secures Pivotal Brazilian License, Cementing LATAM Expansion
Platform pioneer unlocks one of the world’s most dynamic iGaming markets, offering operators and providers a seamless, compliant gateway to millions of new players.
Groove, the award-winning iGaming aggregation platform, has today announced a monumental leap in its global expansion strategy with the official granting of its license to operate in Brazil.
This landmark regulatory approval marks a decisive moment in Groove’s strategic blueprint for Latin America, a vision further reinforced by the significant strengthening of its established and fully regulated infrastructure in Argentina. Together, these developments create an unrivalled dual-hub strategy, positioning Groove as the definitive gateway to the continent.
This hard-won license provides a fully compliant and powerful conduit for Groove’s partners to engage a market on the cusp of historic growth. For operators, it translates to a frictionless, single-integration pathway for capturing market share in this coveted region. They can now leverage Groove’s robust platform to deploy a fully localised and compliant casino offering at unparalleled speed, complete with curated game portfolios tailored to local preferences, integrated local payment processing, and bespoke marketing tools designed to captivate Latin American players. This eliminates years of complex regulatory legwork, allowing partners to go to market in a matter of weeks, not years.
For game studios and content providers, the Brazilian license acts as a direct and streamlined conduit to a vast new audience. Groove offers a managed route to market, taking on the heavy burden of complex regulatory technical standards and certification processes. This allows creators to focus on their core mission of developing world-class entertainment, secure in the knowledge that their content will be efficiently placed in front of a massive, engaged audience through a trusted and fully compliant pipeline.
Rachel Tourgeman, Head of Partnerships at Groove, emphasised the transformative nature of this development. “The green light in Brazil is more than a license; it’s a key that unlocks a kingdom of opportunity for our partners. We’ve built a platform capable of not just entering, but driving in regulated markets.”
Tourgeman put the new license in perspective, saying: “Operators can now immediately tap into Brazil’s immense potential, while providers gain a trusted pipeline to a passionate new player base. This is a definitive moment that accelerates the entire LATAM iGaming ecosystem.”
This strategic expansion is a direct reflection of Groove’s commitment to being the most reliable and agile aggregation partner in the world’s most promising emerging markets. With over 20,000 games available and a raft of over 150 games partners, Groove brings unrivalled choice to the Brazilian market.
Yahale Meltzer, Co-Founder and CEO of Groove, commented, “Our vision has always been to build the bridges that connect great content with passionate players, wherever they are. Securing our Brazilian license and reinforcing our Argentine operations is a testament to our team’s relentless execution and our long-term commitment to LATAM.”
Meltzer concluded: “We are not just following trends; we are actively architecting the future of iGaming in the region, providing a secure, scalable, and sophisticated platform for our partners to grow with us. The door to Latin America is now open, and Groove is the key.”
For further information visit the new web domain at www.groovetech.com
The post Groove Secures Pivotal Brazilian License, Cementing LATAM Expansion appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
Latest News
Stephen Crystal Named Ambassador for SiGMA North America 2026 in Mexico City
SCCG Management Founder and CEO Stephen Crystal has been named one of ten industry ambassadors for SiGMA North America 2026, the summit’s inaugural Mexico City edition. The event takes place September 1 to 3 at Centro Banamex and is expected to welcome 4,000 delegates, 1,000 operators, more than 150 speakers, and over 200 exhibitors and sponsors.
The ambassador appointment recognizes leaders working across iGaming in North and Latin America who will support the summit’s positioning as a new regional hub for the industry. Crystal joins a group of C-level executives, founders, and specialists from across the Americas, including Javier Troncoso (InsightPlay.ai), David Fica (Land Vegas Group), Fellipe Fraga (Stellar Gaming), Iliana Maria Pineda Echeverri (Wplay), Fernando Garita (Kabata Group), Juan Pablo Barahona (BETBY), Elizabeth Maya Cano (Cornazar), Gonzalo Perez (Apuesta Total), and Rosa Ochoa (Blue Global Gaming).
“Mexico City is the right location and the right moment for a summit of this scale,” said Stephen Crystal. “Latin America’s gaming markets are maturing rapidly, regulatory frameworks are taking shape across the region, and the companies operating in these markets need a dedicated forum that bridges North and South. SiGMA’s decision to plant its North American flag in Mexico reflects where the industry’s growth trajectory is heading, and SCCG is proud to support that vision as an ambassador.”
Crystal is confirmed on the Day 2 conference agenda for the panel “Regulation and Revenue: Dissecting North America’s State and Provincial Affiliate Ecosystem,” which will examine how affiliate structures are evolving across the region’s regulated markets.
SiGMA North America 2026 marks the group’s first event in Mexico City, following BiS SiGMA South America 2026 in Sao Paulo earlier this year. The two events give the industry two major regional touchpoints in the same calendar year, covering both Spanish-speaking and Portuguese-speaking markets across the Americas. The September calendar also connects to the SiGMA Affiliate Retreat in Cancun (September 4 to 6) and Affiliate World Americas in Cancun (September 7 to 8), creating a full circuit for companies active in performance marketing and business development across the region.
The three-day summit program includes a full conference agenda, expo floor, the SiGMA Pitch North America startup competition, the SiGMA North America Awards, networking dinners, and VIP programming throughout Mexico City.
With more than 33 years of experience in the global gambling industry, SCCG Management works with operators, suppliers, startups, investors, and technology companies across more than 50 jurisdictions. The firm’s advisory and business development practice spans sports betting, iGaming, tribal gaming, payments, emerging technology, media partnerships, and international market expansion.
SiGMA North America 2026 takes place September 1 to 3 at Centro Banamex in Mexico City. Tickets and registration are available at sigma.world.
The post Stephen Crystal Named Ambassador for SiGMA North America 2026 in Mexico City appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
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