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SAZKA Entertainment AG appoints Lord Sebastian Coe CH KBE to its board

Published

5 years ago

September 20, 2021

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Four time Olympic medal winner, current President of World Athletics, and a global leader in the world of sport, Lord Sebastian Coe CH KBE is to join the board of Europe’s largest lottery operators, SAZKA Entertainment AG. Lord Coe’s appointment as the board´s first Independent Non-Executive Director took effect as of September 14, 2021.

Sebastian Coe entered the global stage via athletics in the Moscow Olympic Games in 1980, winning a gold medal in the 1,500m and a silver in the 800m, a feat he repeated in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

After retiring from competitive sport with twelve world records to his name in 1990, he became a Conservative MP and private secretary to William Hague, the then leader of the UK government opposition. In 2004, he became Chairman of London’s bid to host the 2012 Games. When the bid successfully won against Paris, Moscow, New York, and Madrid, he went on to Chair the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Organising Committee. He has served as President of World Athletics since 2015, steering the sport on a world stage through the impact of Covid-19, including at a successful Tokyo Olympics. He was elected a member of the International Olympic Committee in 2020.

SAZKA Entertainment is a subsidiary of KKCG, the global investment group founded by Czech entrepreneur Karel Komárek. As chairman of SAZKA Entertainment’s board, Mr Komárek commented: “Lord Coe has been a colossal figure on the world stage of sport, politics and business through his long and distinguished career. We’re honoured to have him join our team as its first Independent Non-Executive Director. He brings tremendous additional strength to our international perspective as we strive to maximise the raising of funds for good causes in all of the markets we serve.”

Lord Sebastian Coe also commented on his appointment. “Over the years I’ve seen the tremendous benefit lottery funds have brought to grassroots and elite sport across the globe. I’m looking forward to joining a team with a proven track record of supporting sport at all levels in the countries where it operates. My role will be to ensure that we develop our support of sport further and ensure that SAZKA Entertainment is a powerful driving force behind grassroots and elite sport funding across Europe and beyond.”

BLAST

BLAST opens New York HQ as 2025 revenue tops $133m on 40%+ growth

Published

18 minutes ago

July 1, 2026

Wladimir P.

blast-opens-new-york-hq-as-2025-revenue-tops-$133m-on-40%+-growth

Esports and live events operator says it stayed profitable in 2025 and plans 15 arena events across 13 cities in 2026.

BLAST has opened a New York City headquarters in Brooklyn as the company reported record growth and profitability in 2025, including more than $133 million in revenue and over 40% year-over-year growth.

The new U.S. headquarters is located at 45 Main Street in Brooklyn within a shared 55,000-square-foot office space. BLAST said the hub will support partnerships, live events and commercial growth across North America as it expands its U.S. operations.

The North American push is being led by Chief Business Officer Leo Matlock, who has relocated to New York, alongside Steve Rossi, who joined earlier this year as SVP of Brand Partnerships. BLAST said its U.S. team has grown to eight full-time employees.

BLAST said it has staged seven tier-one esports events in North America over the past 16 months, across Austin, Fort Worth, Boston, Raleigh, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City. The company cited “more than $102 million” in economic impact from the 2025 BLAST.tv Austin Major alone, including more than $9 million in hotel expenditures. It also recently announced the Rocket League World Championship will return to Fort Worth in September 2026.

In 2025, BLAST said its broadcasts delivered more than 2 billion live views globally and 300 million hours watched, spanning live events in 22 cities worldwide. The company also said it distributes content via 29 broadcast partners, including SuperSport, France TV and RTBF, reaching audiences in more than 150 territories and 30+ languages.

“Competitive entertainment has become one of the fastest-growing sectors in global media because it combines community, technology and live experiences in entirely new ways,” said Robbie Douek, CEO of BLAST. “The next generation of fans want entertainment that feels participatory, social and global by default. That shift is creating enormous opportunities for brands, publishers, creators and host cities, and we believe BLAST is uniquely positioned to help lead that evolution after a landmark year in 2025.” BLAST said it plans to host 15 arena events across 13 cities and three continents in 2026.

The post BLAST opens New York HQ as 2025 revenue tops $133m on 40%+ growth appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

BLAST

BLAST reports 40% revenue growth in 2025, opens New York headquarters

Published

18 minutes ago

July 1, 2026

GamingAmericas.com

blast-reports-40%-revenue-growth-in-2025,-opens-new-york-headquarters

BLAST, the Denmark-founded competitive entertainment and esports events company, reported record growth and continued profitability in 2025 and said it has opened a New York headquarters as it expands across North America.

The company said it delivered more than 40% year-over-year growth and generated more than $133 million in revenue in 2025, while remaining profitable and continuing to invest in global expansion. BLAST said its U.S. headquarters at 45 Main Street in Brooklyn sits within a shared 55,000-square-foot office space and will serve as its central base for partnerships, live events and commercial growth across North America.

The expansion is being led by Chief Business Officer Leo Matlock, who has relocated to New York, and Steve Rossi, who joined earlier this year as SVP of Brand Partnerships. BLAST said its U.S. team has grown to eight full-time employees.

BLAST pointed to recent North American activity, saying it has hosted seven tier-one esports events across Austin, Fort Worth, Boston, Raleigh, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City over the past 16 months. The company said these events have generated economic impact for host destinations, including more than $102 million from the 2025 BLAST.tv Austin Major alone, including more than $9 million in hotel expenditures. BLAST also said the Rocket League World Championship will return to Fort Worth in September 2026.

On content reach, BLAST said its 2025 broadcasts delivered more than 2 billion live views globally and 300 million hours watched across live events in 22 cities, distributed through 29 broadcast partners across online platforms and linear broadcasters. “We’re seeing tremendous momentum globally and all across North America, not just in esports fandom, but in how brands, game publishers, cities and entertainment companies are thinking about gaming culture, engaging competitions and digital-first audiences,” said Leo Matlock, Chief Business Officer at BLAST. The company said it plans to host 15 arena events across 13 cities and three continents in 2026.

The post BLAST reports 40% revenue growth in 2025, opens New York headquarters appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.

analytics

Flashscore: 1.99m UK users track World Cup group stage ahead of England v DR Congo

Published

1 hour ago

July 1, 2026

Wladimir P.

flashscore:-1.99m-uk-users-track-world-cup-group-stage-ahead-of-england-v-dr-congo

Flashscore says 1.99 million UK users followed the World Cup group stage on its app and website between 11 June and 28 June, generating 264.1 million views ahead of England’s Round of 32 match against DR Congo in Atlanta on 1 July.

In the UK, England was the most-tracked team with 872,900 profile opens, followed by Scotland with 394,200, according to the company’s dataset. Flashscore said England fixtures took the top three spots for UK user engagement, led by the group-stage match against Croatia with 631,684 users and 2.9 million views. The other two most-viewed England games were against Ghana (2.21 million views) and Panama (2.05 million views).

Flashscore also published global figures for the group stage, reporting 7.16 billion views from 62.26 million unique users. Portugal was the most-followed nation worldwide on Flashscore with 11.2 million team profile opens, ahead of Brazil (9.1 million), France (8.7 million), Spain (7.8 million) and Argentina (7.7 million). England ranked eighth globally with 6.5 million profile opens.

The company highlighted Cape Verde as one of the tournament’s “surprise stories”, placing sixth globally by team views and fourth among UK users. Flashscore also released a “Team of the Group Stage” selected using its new “Flashscore Rating”, which it said analyses more than 70 on-ball and off-ball metrics. Erling Haaland was rated 9.0, with Lionel Messi (8.9) and Kylian Mbappe (8.6) also included in the attacking trio, while Marc Guehi (8.4) was the only England player selected.

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