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Sky Bet signs five-year title partnership extension with the English Football League
Sky Bet – part of Flutter Entertainment – has signed a record five-year partnership extension with the English Football League (EFL) that will see Sky Bet continue as the League’s title partner until the end of the 2028/29 campaign.
Building on a decade-long partnership, the new rights fee represents a 50% increase from Sky Bet, providing significant revenues for EFL Clubs and support for the League’s overriding objective to make Clubs financially sustainable across all divisions.
The deal will also see Sky Bet invest £1 million per season and £6 million in total into a Community Fund held by the EFL to be invested into communities across England and Wales where EFL Clubs are located. Sky Bet and the EFL will use the funding to deliver activity via the EFL Trust and the network of Club Community Organisations (CCOs), with the initiatives in focus to be mutually agreed by the organisations.
Having first been agreed in 2013, the partnership – one of the longest and most significant in UK professional sport – is centred around a clear Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two organisations that sets out how to deliver our joint objectives in a socially responsible way. This has always and rightly placed safer gambling at its heart, while also establishing a framework that allows us to engage the millions of EFL fans and connect them with the teams, players, and communities that they passionately support.
The MoU will continue to put the protection of children and other vulnerable individuals at its heart with both Sky Bet and the EFL making a renewed commitment to its approach in the promotion of the product.
Examples within the MoU include:
- Sky Bet will not actively market themselves or their products in family areas of club stadiums or advertise to young fans
- The EFL will dedicate a proportion of its central inventory to promote safer gambling messaging and support Sky Bet’s safer gambling campaigns
- Sky Bet will fund a player education programme across the EFL’s 72 clubs that will focus on the potential dangers of gambling and provide support and advice
Both Sky Bet and the EFL will share learnings and insight from the partnership with Government, other sports and sector stakeholders to help inform the new sports sponsorship Code of Conduct which is being developed in accordance with the Gambling Act Review White Paper’s proposals.
Flutter recently welcomed the publication of the Gambling Act Review, which we see as a significant positive moment for the UK gambling sector, raising standards and bringing the regulatory framework into the digital age.
As part of the agreement, Sky Bet will continue as Official Title Partner of the Sky Bet EFL and Sky Bet Play-Offs on a worldwide basis. Sky Bet will also have rights to award the official Manager, Player and Goal of the Month awards as well as the seasonal ‘Golden Boot’ and ‘Golden Glove’ awards in each division.
Commenting, Steve Birch, Sky Bet Chief Commercial Officer, commented: “I’m extremely proud of Sky Bet’s ongoing partnership with the EFL and delighted to have reached today’s agreement. Football is central to who we are and it’s great to be able to support the game and provide investment for Clubs across the Pyramid.
I’m particularly delighted that we can go one step further today with the announcement of our Sky Bet EFL Community Fund, seeking to make a real difference for people across England and Wales.
As the recent Sky Bet Play-Off Finals demonstrated, the EFL is going from strength to strength with packed grounds and millions watching games here in the UK and around the world.
We are absolutely committed to Safer Gambling, and I’m delighted that our partnership with the EFL shows how responsible betting and gaming operators, and sporting organisations can work together to promote safer gambling and tackle the issue of gambling harm.”
Commenting, Trevor Birch, EFL Chief Executive said: “For over a decade, Sky Bet has been a valuable partner for EFL Clubs, offering sustained investment to help Clubs navigate a volatile financial landscape and ensure fans can enjoy fantastic footballing entertainment in every corner of the country.
We have consistently seen our partnership evolve to move with the times and with community at the heart of the EFL, a new community investment fund is perfectly aligned and will help strengthen the partnership’s commitment to social responsibility.
The Government’s recent Gambling White Paper highlighted the social responsibility measures that have accompanied our partnership with Sky Bet as being an example of good practice for the wider sports sector to learn from and we will look to deepen our commitment to the promotion of safer gambling as part of this extension.
On behalf of our Clubs we thank Sky Bet for its ongoing support to English football and we look forward to seeing our much-loved competition develop yet further with the additional certainty this investment provides.”
eSports
Esports Nations Cup 2026 Announces Official VALORANT Rosters
The Esports Foundation (EF) confirmed the official roster submissions and direct invite recipients for the VALORANT tournament at the Esports Nations Cup 2026 (ENC), the global nation-based esports competition set to debut in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from November 2-29, 2026.
111 rosters representing 111 countries and territories have been officially submitted and confirmed for the VALORANT tournament. 32 of those rosters will compete at the ENC Finals for VALORANT, with 16 countries and territories receiving direct invitations through the official ENC 2026 Rankings. The system has scored, accumulated and ranked submitted roster player performances across all official Riot Games competitions through the conclusion of Masters London. Those invited countries and territories, and their submitted rosters, are:
• UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – trent, valyn, leaf, zekken, skuba, Ethan and Cryocells
• REPUBLIC OF KOREA – iZu, BuZz, Francis, Munchkin, Ivy and Dambi
• PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA – ZmjKK, CHICHOO, nobody, Knight, slowly, K1Ra and Lysoar
• CANADA – TenZ, mada, eeiu, Marved, JonahP, koalanoob and Zander
• TÜRKIYE – Alfajer, Ruxic, Lar0k, RieNs, xeus, Wo0t and s0pp
• BRAZIL – aspas, artzin, spikeziN, Less, Sacy, Sato and lukxo
• SINGAPORE – Deryeon, Jinggg, nephh, STYRON, wayne, Vera and JayH
• POLAND – kayak, kamo, starxo, PROFEK, westside, paTiTek and UNFAKE
• PHILIPPINES – Zeus, kellyS, xavi8k, invy, PatMen, Markyyy and Wild0reoo
• GREAT BRITAIN – Lime, Severe, benjyfishy, keiko, Ticey and YaBoiLewis
• CHINESE TAIPEI – Nicc, SpiritZ1, WsLeo, Spring, S1Mon and Yuicaw
• MALAYSIA – d4v41, theDoctorr, xan, Riza, Fixy, toggle and aplycs
• FINLAND – Jamppi, Derke, iluri, Famsii, H1ber, hoody and Snowi
• LITHUANIA – Boo, MiniBoo, Koshmaras, Kajuks, Destrian, roxie and vakk
• THAILAND – killua, Primmie, JitboyS, PTC, Apinya and Kadoom
• CHILE – kiNgg, erde, Mazino, keznit, Tunaso, Shyy and david
A clear favourite emerges near the top of the rankings: the US. G2 Esports’ highly decorated and highly dangerous trio of trent, valyn, leaf lead the way for the US, with multiple VCT Americas stage trophies to their names, and the desire to finally claim an international trophy still in their hearts. Joining them though are a handful of superstars that have won on VALORANT’s biggest stages: VALORANT’s only two-time world champion Ethan, his reigning world champion NRG teammates skuba, and former Masters Madrid winner zekken of MIBR, joined by one of the game’s most elite players in Cryocells. The best of the best from one of the game’s strongest regions are all together on one roster, and expectations are sky high.
But they only have to look north to spot an equally dangerous contender. Leading Canada is one of Ethan and skuba’s teammates, fellow world champion mada. Joining him are more VCT Americas standout players in FURIA duo eeiu and koalanoob, and Sentinels’ jonahP. And coming out of retirement to compete for Canada are two former Sentinels stars, and Masters winners, in TenZ and Marved. A match between Canada and the US at ENC would be a dream come true for VALORANT fans not just in North America, but around the world.
Brazil is bringing back former champions of their own. Sacy, the only VALORANT player to be able to claim a Masters and a Champions trophy, is back with his former teammate Aspas and less, alongside FURIA’s artzin and LEVIATAN’s spikezin. LEVIATAN’s tremendous victory at Masters London not only drastically improved Brazil’s ranking, but allowed kiNgg and Chile to just narrowly sneak into the top 16 and secure an invite.
Nongshim RedForce trio Francis, Ivy and Dambi will make up the core of the team representing South Korea, with DRX star BuZz and Gen.G star Munchkin joining them, while the People’s Republic of China roster is bolstered by an equally dangerous trio in ZmjKK, CHICHOO and nobody from EDward Gaming. Across Europe, a number of prolific duos will attempt to bring glory to their home nations, including Vitality twosome Derke and Jamppi for Finland, keiko and EWC 2025 champion Benjyfishy for Great Britain, and brothers Boo and MiniBoo for Lithuania. Teams from Singapore, Türkiye, Poland and the Philippines are also decorated with sensational talent and former trophy winners.
With Masters London concluded and invites to the top 16 teams sent out, the attention turns to the online regional qualifiers taking place June 26-28. The top two teams from the qualifiers for North America, South America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia and Southeast Asia/Oceania will qualify for ENC, alongside the sole winners of the MENA qualifier and the Sub Saharan African qualifier. The final two teams will go to Wildcard slots.
The post Esports Nations Cup 2026 Announces Official VALORANT Rosters appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Booming Games
Booming Games launches Fortune Paw slot with 2,500x top win and respins
New 3×3, five-payline release includes an all-payline 10x multiplier and a Wild-collection respins mechanic.
Booming Games has launched Fortune Paw, a new slot title featuring a 3×3 grid with five fixed paylines and a stated maximum win of 2,500x.
The game includes an all-payline multiplier mechanic. According to the supplier, landing winning symbols on all five paylines awards a 10x multiplier.
Fortune Paw also includes a respins feature tied to Wild symbols in the base game. The company said Wilds are collected and can trigger respins “at any time,” after which a symbol is selected at random and a respin series is awarded, with landed symbols held as additional respins are granted.
Craig Asling, Director of Games at Booming Games, said: “Fortune Paw combines simple mechanics with large win potential to create a fast-paced, high-stakes gameplay experience. We are particularly proud of the fantastic artwork and our titular Fortune Paw character that really brings the game to life.”
The post Booming Games launches Fortune Paw slot with 2,500x top win and respins appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Blueprint Gaming
Blueprint Gaming launches Red Hot Catch with Money Collect and stacked bonus upgrades
New 5×4, 20-payline slot adds a Wicked Wheel feature and up to five stackable Red Hot Spins enhancements.
Blueprint Gaming has released Red Hot Catch, a new Money Collect slot title featuring a Wicked Wheel bonus and a Red Hot Spins feature with up to five stackable enhancements.
Set in a “neon-lit underworld” theme, Red Hot Catch is a 5×4, 20-payline slot. Cash symbols can land across all five reels and are awarded when a collect symbol appears on reel 1 or 5, according to the supplier. Blueprint said the game has a one-in-five win hit rate and high volatility.
The Wicked Wheel feature triggers a spin of the “Devil’s Wheel” to award either an instant cash prize or the Super Bonus. Separately, Bonus Scatter symbols add to one of the chests above the reels, each with the chance to trigger Red Hot Spins.
When Red Hot Spins activates, the bonus round starts with a cash multiplier and one or more of five upgrades already active. Blueprint said the upgrade set includes multiplied cash values, boosted symbols, respins and a fully cleared reel set.
Jo Purvis, Director of Marketing, PR and Events at Blueprint Gaming
, said: “Red Hot Catch brings a new dimension to our Money Collect offering, layering a proven formula with an intuitive range of bonus upgrades that give players real variety and sustained engagement.
“With five distinct Red Hot Spins enhancements that can stack in combination, no two bonus rounds play out the same way. We’re confident the game will resonate strongly with players who have come to love frequent opportunities to collect wins, and we look forward to seeing it perform across our regulated markets worldwide.”
The post Blueprint Gaming launches Red Hot Catch with Money Collect and stacked bonus upgrades appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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