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Premier League Football Stars, Shaun Wright Phillips and Jordan Stewart, Lead Investment in The Sports Metaverse
The Sports Metaverse pioneers esports with virtual land sales, metaverse personal training, sports betting and fan engagement
The Sports Metaverse, the world’s first virtual world specifically focused on sports, has announced that former professional football players, Shaun Wright Phillips and Jordan Stewart, have purchased land in the Sports Metaverse.
Shaun Wright Philips will use his land for events and to display his NFTs:
“I’m really excited to be involved in the Sports Metaverse. This is the new frontier when it comes to sports. The metaverse and owning a piece of it is about interaction and co creation – watching live sports with friends all around the world, hanging out with friends, and buying and selling NFTs are some of the things I’m really looking forward to doing here.“
Investment into VR real estate in the metaverse has grown exponentially, with brands like Adidas and top influencers looking to establish themselves in the virtual world. In the metaverse where possibilities are endless, investors see the potential to rent a virtual space for parties with sports stars, private lodges to view sporting events in VR stadiums, or offer key brands a space for sponsorship appearances. As a result, early investors are already making tenfold, million dollar profits. The returns are expected to continue to grow as Grayscale Research predicts annual revenues for the metaverse at $1 trillion, with $400 Billion for gaming worlds alone.
In addition to Shaun Wright Philips, Sports Metaverse announced that four companies have already pre-bought land. They include Phat Fantasy, Own the Moment, ThriveFantasy, Press Sports, and Beyond The Game Network. Brands can apply for the private sale here.
SportsIcon COO and Co-Founder Alexi Yovanoff said:
“Both Shaun and Jordan have played at the top of their profession, so it’s an honor to have these athletes join the Sports Metaverse. I still remember the goal that Shaun scored against Manchester United in 2004, and Jordan has had a great career here in the UK and in the USA.
What strikes me the most about these two is their passion for web3, communities, and the interaction with athletes that the Sports Metaverse will give to consumers.”
Shaun Wright Phillips is one of the best players of his generation, playing for England in the National Team, and for Manchester City and Chelsea. Jordan Stewart has had a successful career in both England and the United States at clubs such as Leicester City and the San Jose Earthquakes.
The Sports Metaverse is a digital world devoted solely to sports. It unites the most prominent sports stars, brands, and clubs together in one place. Sports Metaverse is built by SportsIcon and industry veterans from Sony, Doom, Playstation Home, and Nvidia. You can trade NFTs, buy land, interact with iconic sportspeople, and visit stadiums.
SportsIcon is backed by rapper turned investor Nas, Dapper Labs, Dapper Labs CEO Roham Gharegozlou, Youtube Founder Chad Hurley, Hedera and Reserve Founder Andrew Masanto, and ex NBA star Andrew Bogut.
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Argentine Basketball
FeedConstruct Secures Exclusive Rights to the Argentine Basketball Ecosystem
FeedConstruct has reached a major milestone in its Latin American expansion, securing exclusive worldwide streaming and data rights to all games across Argentina’s top basketball leagues, including:
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Liga Nacional (LNB)
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Liga Argentina
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Liga Federal
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Liga Femenina
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La Liga Próximo
This deal positions FeedConstruct as the primary global source for Argentine basketball, delivering over 2,400 games per season to partners worldwide.
Liga Nacional (LNB): South America’s Premier Basketball League
The Liga Nacional (LNB) is Argentina’s top-tier league and a recognized talent pipeline to the NBA, producing legends like Manu Ginóbili, Luis Scola, and Facundo Campazzo. Iconic teams such as Atenas de Córdoba, San Lorenzo, and Peñarol make the league a global attraction.
Liga Argentina: High-Stakes Competition and Rising Stars
Argentina’s second division, Liga Argentina, is defined by intense rivalries and promotion battles. Featuring historic clubs like Ferro Carril Oeste and Quilmes, it serves as a proving ground for emerging talent and offers passionate local fanbases.
Leadership Voices on the Deal
Narek Harutyunyan, CEO at FeedConstruct, said:
“Securing the exclusive rights to the Argentine basketball ecosystem is a landmark achievement. By consolidating these rights, we are creating an unparalleled offering for partners, delivering a high-quality experience across one of the world’s most exciting basketball nations.”
Eduardo Tassano, President of the Asociación de Clubes de Básquetbol, added:
“This agreement supports our goal of strengthening transparency, technological standards, and international projection. It adds significant value to the ecosystem and positions Argentine basketball on a global stage of professionalism.”
Liga Federal: Hyper-Local Coverage Across Argentina
The Liga Federal, the country’s largest professional competition with over 100 clubs, represents the heart of Argentine basketball. FeedConstruct’s coverage ensures fans and operators have full access to hyper-local content across every province.
Liga Femenina: Spotlight on Women’s Basketball
The Liga Femenina is Argentina’s premier women’s league, featuring stars like Melisa Gretter and top clubs such as Berazategui and Quimsa. This league is experiencing rapid growth, reflecting the rising global demand for women’s sports.
La Liga Próximo: Nurturing the Next Generation
La Liga Próximo is the elite developmental pipeline, showcasing youth squads from prestigious clubs including Boca Juniors, Quimsa, Obras Sanitarias, and Instituto de Córdoba. It acts as a scouting ground for future international stars, ensuring the continuity of Argentina’s basketball talent.
FeedConstruct: Strengthening Regional Leadership
This acquisition cements FeedConstruct’s leadership in Latin America, providing seamless access to the full spectrum of Argentine basketball for fans, operators, and betting platforms. With exclusive coverage across men’s, women’s, professional, and youth leagues, FeedConstruct now delivers the entire Argentine basketball ecosystem globally.
The post FeedConstruct Secures Exclusive Rights to the Argentine Basketball Ecosystem appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Gen Z
How to Attract Gen Z Sports Bettors: Why Social, Swipe-Based UI Wins the Future
Gen Z isn’t here for your dad’s sportsbook. If your platform looks like a spreadsheet full of odds, they’re already swiping left. Raised on TikTok-speed content, mobile-first apps, and instant feedback loops, Gen Z expects experiences that feel more like games than gambling.
Most traditional operators miss the mark. They toss around buzzwords like “gamification” and “social engagement” without actually creating products that resonate. The result? Older audiences stay loyal while Gen Z scrolls right past.
Enter BetHero: a swipe-based, social-first sportsbook built for the next generation.
What Makes Gen Z Sports Bettors Different
1. Mobile Is Their Home Base
For Gen Z, smartphones aren’t optional — they’re default. Betting happens on the go, not on desktops. BetHero’s swipe interface is designed for thumb-driven, one-handed use, making it intuitive and fast. Every feature, from joining a lobby to placing picks, works seamlessly on mobile.
2. Social Proof Drives Engagement
Gen Z wants to be seen playing. Leaderboards, streaks, and shareable achievements turn betting into a social experience. Players post wins, climb ranks, and broadcast their progress — all without leaving the platform. Every screenshot and share becomes organic marketing.
3. Instant Gratification Is Key
Raised on TikTok and Instagram, Gen Z expects instant results. BetHero delivers with live updates, swipe-to-pick mechanics, and real-time rewards. The result? Fast, dynamic, and satisfying gameplay from the first interaction.
4. Community Beats Isolation
This generation values shared experiences. BetHero’s Lobbies turn betting into a group event: friends compete together, compare picks, and interact through leaderboards. Solo betting is out — social betting is in.
Why Traditional Sportsbooks Fail Gen Z
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Complex UI: Text-heavy odds tables intimidate casual users. ESRB reports highlight that younger audiences prefer simple, visual interfaces.
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No Social Interaction: Legacy sportsbooks are solitary. Gen Z thrives on community, which BetHero provides via Lobbies and live leaderboards.
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Low Engagement: Betting ends at the wager. BetHero keeps users hooked with ongoing updates, competitions, and progress tracking.
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Outdated Marketing: Generic offers don’t resonate with authenticity-driven Gen Z. Social-first design spreads excitement organically.
Traditional sportsbooks feel like spreadsheets. BetHero turns betting into a fast, visual, and social experience.
How BetHero Wins Gen Z Mindshare
Swipe-Based UI
Swipe-to-pick mechanics mirror the interactions Gen Z uses daily on apps and social media. Simple, fluid, and game-like, it transforms betting into a quick dopamine hit.
Lobbies: Betting as a Shared Event
Shared competitions keep friends connected. Lobbies let players join groups, compete together, and climb the same leaderboards. What was once a solo activity now spreads socially.
Leaderboards: Motivation Made Visible
Real-time leaderboards track every pick and game, creating natural loops of progression and reward. Players stay engaged and motivated to improve.
Shareability: Built-In Virality
Sharing achievements, invites, and leaderboard screenshots turns players into promoters. Peer-to-peer marketing drives awareness and acquisition without expensive ads.
Operator Benefits of Engaging Gen Z
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Lower CAC: Social sharing replaces costly ads.
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Higher Retention: Engaged players return more often.
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Broader Reach: Shareable mechanics spread through social channels.
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Future-Proof Growth: Early adaptation builds loyalty with the generation defining the next decade of betting.
The Future of Sportsbooks is Social
Gen Z isn’t the future — they’re already changing the rules. Fast, visual, social, mobile-first platforms will dominate. BetHero meets these expectations with swipe-based interfaces, social lobbies, live leaderboards, and built-in shareability.
Betting is no longer solitary — it’s interactive, communal, and social by design. Platforms that embrace this will capture the hearts (and wallets) of the next generation.
Internal Links for SEO:
High-Authority External Links:
If you want, I can also create a version with short, snappy subheadings and bullet points throughout, tailored for mobile-scanning readers — perfect for Gen Z attention spans. It would make the article even more engaging and shareable.
The post How to Attract Gen Z Sports Bettors: Why Social, Swipe-Based UI Wins the Future appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
AI
Confronting the age of AI-driven fraud
Gerardo Prieto, Chief Information Security Officer at The Mill Adventure, explores how the rise of generative AI is forcing a total paradigm shift in iGaming security and player verification.
Online gambling’s traditional identity stand-off has reached a breaking point. For years, operators walked a tightrope, balancing rigid AML/KYC regulations against the player’s desire for frictionless onboarding. But as we move through 2026, the ground has shifted substantially. The modern fraudster is no longer a manual actor relying on basic tools like Photoshop, but a 24/7 automated threat, utilising adaptive AI to evolve faster than most development sprint cycles.
For operators, the cost of losing this arms race is staggering. Identity fraud and money laundering have converged as the predominant risks, with 64.8% of businesses citing them as their primary threats. However, the real wake-up call is the point of entry. Recent market analysis reveals that the financial threshold is now the most vulnerable vector, with 41.9% of fraud attempts occurring specifically during the deposit stage. This is now the absolute frontline of defence.
The death of seeing-is-believing
We have moved well beyond the era of scripted attacks. The new frontline is defined by AI-driven abuse, where generative models create synthetic identities and high-fidelity deepfakes. Using real-time FaceSwap and lip-sync algorithms, bad actors can now bypass standard KYC protocols with ease. The traditional liveness check – asking a user to blink or turn their head – is increasingly obsolete against sophisticated generative adversarial networks (GANs).
The nightmare scenario for the modern CISO is the rise of camera injection. In these attacks, fraudsters bypass the device’s physical camera sensor entirely, feeding AI-generated content directly into the verification stream. Because the software believes it is receiving a direct feed from hardware, it misses the red flags of a digital overlay. In this landscape, the human eye has become a vulnerability, and pixels alone can no longer be trusted to verify a soul.
Biology vs. Algorithms: The new verification
To defend the perimeter, operators need to shift to a verification model rooted in physics and biology, not just image recognition. This requires advanced countermeasures like Remote Photoplethysmography (rPPG). This technology analyses minute light absorption patterns to track blood flow changes invisible to the naked eye. An AI deepfake might have perfect skin texture and flawless movement, but it does not have a pulse. By detecting the heartbeat in a video stream, we can distinguish between a living human and a digital mask.
We must also utilise 3D geometry and lighting physics to validate that a user’s environment is a physical reality. While a deepfake can simulate a face, it often fails to replicate the complex interaction between environmental light and the 3D topography of human skin. If the light source doesn’t wrap around the subject correctly, or if the depth map detects a planar surface, the system exposes the image for what it is: a flat counterfeit. We are essentially moving toward a proof-of-presence model that demands physical consistency.
The lifecycle defence
Resilience in 2026 requires a ‘shift left’ strategy. This means intercepting fraud at the absolute earliest stage. However, security cannot simply end at the front door and needs to evolve into a lifecycle defence system.
At onboarding, the priority is stopping synthetic identities. At the deposit stage, operators must employ multi-signal matching to validate KYC names against cardholders, dismantling muling rings before they can load funds. During gameplay, behavioural AI is essential to analyse betting patterns for bot signatures. Finally, at withdrawal, we must replace simple passwords with biometric step-up checks to prevent Account Takeover (ATO) fraud.
The operational standard is now risk-based authentication. Instead of rigid ‘allow or block’ rules, operators must move toward dynamic risk profiles for every session. By ingesting over 100 different signals, including biometric, IP, and device data, a system can apply friction only where it is explicitly needed. Low-risk users on trusted devices enjoy a seamless experience, while medium-risk anomalies trigger a passive biometric scan. Only overt threats are blocked immediately.
In this new reality, survival is about agility and not budget. Annual audits and static policies are relics of the past. If your security strategy is static, you are effectively opening the door to attackers. It is time to cultivate an adaptive immune system that evolves faster than the threat.
The post Confronting the age of AI-driven fraud appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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