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Southampton FC India Fan Club Members Get VR Matchday Experience From Sportsbet.io Fund

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Dedicated Southampton super fans in countries across the world enjoyed a first-of-its-kind virtual reality matchday experience during the Saints’ fixture against Liverpool on the 12th of November, thanks to the Crypto Fan Fund from Southampton’s Main Club Partner Sportsbet.io.

Pioneering a New Matchday Experience with VR

Using Pico virtual reality headsets, fans from the Southampton India fan club were immersed in an authentic Southampton pre-match experience at the Saints Social Club – the brand-new official Southampton fan pub at The Northam, which opened in late August. Fan pubs are a key part of British football culture, and the VR experience was designed to allow Southampton fans to experience that atmosphere, wherever they are in the world.

The VR experience let the Southampton India fans be a fly-on-the-wall during the opening day of the Saints Social Club and included listening in to an informal ‘pub chat’ with Southampton legends Nigel Adkins and Franny Benali, as well as a live performance from the Saints Brass band.

Speaking about the experience, Southampton India member Srijan Pathak said: “Trying the headsets was absolutely incredible, it really felt like we were there in the Club! We all grew up watching Southampton and the Premier League on our TVs, but never really felt part of it, so to be able to properly immerse yourself in the atmosphere and feel what it’s really like to be in a pub with other fans ahead of the match, it helped us feel connected to the club in a way that we just haven’t before. We’ll definitely be using it before the other matches we watch to get ourselves pumped before kick-off!”

The Crypto Fan Fund

The creation of the Saints Social Club and the VR experience was made possible by the Crypto Fan Fund. At the start of the 2021/22 season, Sportsbet.io donated two Bitcoins to Southampton fans, to be used for a fan-led initiative. The club and Sportsbet.io worked with the leading supporters’ group, Saints Voice, to decide how the donation would be spent, with fans voting in March to turn the Northam Social Club – an iconic Southampton pub just a stone’s throw from St. Mary’s Stadium – into the ultimate Southampton FC fan bar.

Helen Edwards, Head of Responsible Gambling at Sportsbet.io said: “It’s been a privilege to work with Saints Voice, Southampton India, and the Southampton fans throughout this process, and we’re so excited to see the Saints Social Club come to fruition this summer. Through the Crypto Fan Fund, we wanted to show how crypto can be used to genuinely support fans and help them deliver the initiatives that they want to see, and with the help of Southampton FC and Saints Voice we’re delighted to have been able to do exactly that.”

Sarah Batters, Director of Marketing & Partnerships at Southampton FC, said: “It’s been brilliant to work in close collaboration with the representatives of our Saints Voice panel and to find out what really matters to them in order to bring the best matchday experiences for our fans, both at home and across the globe. The new Saints Social Club will provide a wonderful opportunity to bring our fans together, and we’re delighted that we’re able to include our incredible supporters in India as well.”

The donation consolidates Sportsbet.io’s ongoing commitment as the main club sponsor of Southampton Football Club and as a leader in the crypto community. The initiative is part of Sportsbet.io’s ‘Believe the Hype’ campaign, encouraging Saints to believe the hype around their club and around cryptocurrency.

The Saints Road Back to The Prem

The Saints were founding members of the Premier League in 1992/1993 and were ever-present until their relegation at the end of the 2004/2005 season. After falling on troubled times, which included a further relegation to League 1, they returned to the Premier League for the 2012/2013 season and haven’t looked back since.

They have enjoyed top-half finishes in recent years, including a sixth-place finish in the 2015/2016 season which secured Europa League football. In 2016/2017, they reached the final of the League Cup but narrowly missed out on silverware after a 3-2 defeat by Manchester United. They ended the 2019/2020 season with a seven-game unbeaten streak to finish 11th with a tally of 52 points.

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G2 Esports

G2 Esports Announces Global English Launch of Webcomic “Red Aura” on WEBTOON

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G2, one of the world’s leading entertainment and esports brands, announced the upcoming English-language launch of its original fantasy-action series, Red Aura, on WEBTOON, a leading digital comics platform. Launching on Saturday, 6th June under the platform’s WEBTOON Originals label, the series marks the next step in G2’s expansion into digital-first entertainment. Inspired by the defining moments and competitive spirit behind G2’s rise, Red Aura reimagines the organisation’s legacy through bold shonen-inspired storytelling.

After debuting in Japan on LINE MANGA in October 2025, where it reached #9 in New Series on the opening weekend, Red Aura now launches on WEBTOON’s English-language platform as an Originals series. With 20 episodes available immediately, including 15 free episodes and 5 Fast Pass chapters, Red Aura offers readers expanded access to the series from day one, ahead of weekly releases across a planned 42-episode first season.

At the centre of the series is Asa, a young girl who dreams of becoming the greatest Nomad who ever lived. Driven by the same pursuit of greatness at the heart of G2, Red Aura unfolds in a fantasy-action world shaped by rivalry, perseverance and competition, where Asa must learn to master her abilities while facing dangerous enemies and the brutal consequences of ambition.

Red Aura was brought to life through collaboration with KISAI Entertainment, the studio behind the webcomic adaptations of AVATAR: The Last Airbender and The Beginning After the End, alongside Japanese Art Director Runbel, who works on the previously #1 action fantasy series in Japan and Korea – Skill Master Levels Up. Designed specifically for WEBTOON’s vertical-scroll format, the series also experiments with platform-native creative techniques, including a chapter that visually integrates music into the reading experience.

To celebrate the launch, G2 creator and VALORANT streamer Shanks will host a live reading of Red Aura, with further details to be announced soon.

“Red Aura was created as a way to reimagine the ambition and competitive spirit that have defined G2 over the last decade. Following the response to the Japanese launch, we’re excited to now bring the series to a global audience through WEBTOON. Expanding into original entertainment has been a major focus for G2, and Red Aura is only the beginning of what we want to build,” said Sabrina Ratih, COO of G2.

“The world of Red Aura is fresh and original, which made it really enjoyable to work on. It was a lot of fun working with producer Daniel using camera work to create cool action panels that have never been seen before, and I was always inspired by his passion to try new things. I am very honored to have been a part of it. I hope you enjoy it.”

Since its inception over a decade ago, G2 has expanded beyond esports through ventures across entertainment, culture, and original content. From collaborations with Smiley and Solo Leveling, to the launch of G2’s 62 media house and expansion into Gerard Piqué’s Kings League, Red Aura represents G2’s continued investment in anime-inspired entertainment and original storytelling designed for digital-first audiences.

The post G2 Esports Announces Global English Launch of Webcomic “Red Aura” on WEBTOON appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

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Endorphina

Endorphina Releases Football 2026

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Endorphina has released its latest slot Football 2026. Just in time for this summer’s football frenzy, this new 5-reel, 4-row ball blasting online slot with 100 fixed paylines, Hold and Win, Jackpot Collecting, and Bonus Pop, gives everyone the chance to win their own trophies.

With Collector, Extended and Boost goals to score, and Min, Mid, Max and Ultra jackpots to lift, football lovers will want to be the star player on that field every time. And look out for a Pile Feature where those strikes just keep being netted, one on top of the other.

Don’t forget that players can score even more big cup cash in the classic Risk Game. If their card of choice beats the dealer’s they can keep trying to double their wins up to 10 times.

With all eyes on the prize, Endorphina takes this game to world class levels. Football 2026 gives cup-winning cross-platform performance, super strike loading and ball controlling gameplay across mobile, tablet and desktop devices – anytime, anywhere.

The post Endorphina Releases Football 2026 appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

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2026 FIFA World Cup

Betano Sends a Video Game Character into the Real World to Capture the Emotion of the World Cup

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Betano, Kaizen Gaming’s premium online betting and gaming brand, is turning to gaming culture to dramatize the emotional pull of football fandom in its latest international campaign for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Created by Wieden+Kennedy São Paulo, the campaign follows a lonely video game NPC (Non-Playable Character) who escapes the artificial world of a football game to experience the intensity, unpredictability and collective emotion of a real World Cup. Set to a reimagined version of the song “Mr. Lonely,” the film positions football fandom as something too powerful to be simulated.

The work launches under the global platform “Believing Makes it Real” and will roll out across 14 countries in South America and Europe, supported by live activations and fan engagement initiatives tied to the tournament. The campaign will be 360° with dedicated adaptations per country and three main character adjustments tailored to the cultural idiosyncrasies of different regions.

“The FIFA World Cup is the ultimate anchor in global sports, and for a campaign spanning so many different markets, we wanted to match that ambition. Our brief was to articulate the raw, collective emotion of being a fan, a feeling so intense it transcends even the most advanced digital simulation. This film captures that powerful truth, reinforcing our global platform, ‘Believing Makes it Real,’ and positioning Betano at the heart of the sport’s most genuine and unpredictable moments,” said Pablo Puertas, Kaizen Gaming – Betano, Marketing Director.

“Our challenge was finding a fresh, globally resonant way to talk about the World Cup. The campaign starts in a cold, automated universe and follows the journey of an NPC discovering what happens when an entire world truly believes. It’s a contrast that turns football emotion into something impossible to program,” said Felipe Paiva and José Ferraz, Group Creative Directors at Wieden+Kennedy SP.

The campaign also reinforces Betano’s growing relationship with FIFA. The brand was recently named an Official Tournament Supporter of the FIFA World Cup 2026 for Europe and South America, following previous partnerships around the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and the FIFA Club World Cup 2025.

The 2026 edition — hosted across the US, Mexico and Canada — will be the largest in FIFA history, featuring 48 national teams for the first time.

The post Betano Sends a Video Game Character into the Real World to Capture the Emotion of the World Cup appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

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