Winners Alliance, the commercial partner of the World Cricketers’ Association (WCA), has announced a new licensing agreement with Nextwave Multimedia, a subsidiary of Nazara Technologies and the developer behind the popular World Cricket Championship (WCC) mobile game franchise. Through the partnership, Nextwave will integrate names, images, and likenesses of over 500 WCA-affiliated professional cricketers into its WCC titles. With hundreds of millions of downloads across its six releases, WCC remains one of the most widely played games across platforms.

Players currently incorporated in WCC3 include top international names, with additional athletes set to be introduced in May. The upcoming WCC4, scheduled for release later this year, will also feature stars such as Kagiso Rabada and Heinrich Klaasen from South Africa, Devon Conway and Tim Southee from New Zealand, Joe Root and Jos Buttler from England, Nicholas Pooran and Sunil Narine from West Indies, Rashid Khan from Afghanistan, and David Wiese from Namibia, in addition to players from Australia, Canada, Ireland, Zimbabwe, and the United States.

The agreement enables cricketers that are part of the Winners Alliance group licensing program to generate incremental off-field income and gain wider visibility. It also engages Nextwave Multimedia users, allowing them to play as their favourite cricketers.

“It’s great to see Nextwave Multimedia harness the power of professional cricketers as a collective by obtaining a license for their game,” said Tom Moffat, Chief Executive, WCA. “Professional athletes in other global sports have benefited from large-scale group licensing opportunities like this for decades, and we’re pleased that cricket is starting to move into the modern era in this area. Winners Alliance continues to do great work for cricketers by unlocking new revenue streams, boosting their visibility, and protecting them against any unauthorized use of their rights.”

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“Our license with Nextwave Multimedia is a great example of the kinds of long-term, athlete-centric collaborations that Winners Alliance is committed to creating,” said Eric Winston, President, Winners Alliance. “Cricketers, and all professional athletes, should be empowered to maximize their value. Nextwave Multimedia and Nazara Technologies are world-class companies that will unlock new value for cricketers, create new engagement opportunities for fans, and drive more value for the cricket ecosystem as a whole.”

“Integrating over 500 of the world’s top cricketers into WCC marks a significant milestone for us,” said Nitish Mittersain, Founder & CEO of Nazara Technologies. “Our goal has always been to create deeply immersive and authentic sports gaming experiences. Featuring these renowned athletes brings the virtual game closer to reality, offering fans an unprecedented opportunity to engage with the sport—and their cricketing heroes—in a more personal and interactive way.”

Nextwave’s WCC franchise, launched in 2011, has grown to become one of the most downloaded cricket simulation games globally. Nazara Technologies, India’s largest and only public gaming company, acquired Nextwave Multimedia in 2024.

WCC is an officially licensed player product through Winners Alliance. It is not an official product of, or endorsed by, the ICC or any ICC Member unless otherwise prescribed.

ZEAL, the leading German provider of online lotteries, has made a strong start to the new year and recorded significant and sustained growth in its key figures in the first quarter. The Group’s revenue increased by 42% to € 51.1 million in the first three months of the year (2024: € 36.1 million).  At € 17.7 million, EBITDA was almost twice as high as in the previous year (2024: € 9.4 million).

“We started the new year with a lot of momentum and were able to achieve strong results in the first quarter,” says Andrea Behrendt, CFO of ZEAL. “We are particularly proud of the significant increase in our revenue and customer base despite the absence of peak jackpots. This shows that our strategic marketing expenditure and our measures to acquire new customers continue to pay off in the long term and that we are in an excellent operational position. I’m a firm believer in the growth opportunities in our core business in a still underpenetrated market.“

Revenue in core business grows by 41%

ZEAL‘s significant revenue growth in the first quarter is primarily attributable to the strong performance of the lottery business. Despite a weak jackpot situation, billings from lotteries increased by 7% to € 246.7 million (2024: € 246.3 million). The average number of active customers rose by 13% to 1,507 thousand (2024: 1,333 thousand) thanks to continued successful marketing measures. ZEAL was also able to improve its gross margin by 4.1 percent to 17.1% (2024: 13.0%) thanks to the price increase in the previous year and a strong product mix. The parallel increase in billings and gross margin led to significant revenue growth in the lottery business of 41% to € 45.2 million (2024: € 32.0 million).

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Games business grows by 56%

The games business also performed very well in the first three months of the year. ZEAL was able to expand its games portfolio in the B2C segment to more than 400 titles, increasing revenue from games by 56% to € 3.4 million (2024: € 2.2 million).

Disproportionate increase in EBITDA and EBIT

ZEAL intensified its investment in continuous growth in the past quarter and set an absolute record for a quarter without maximum jackpots with 247 thousand new customers. The 47% increase in acquisition costs per registered new customer (cost per lead, CPL) to € 48.5 (2024: € 33.0) is attributable to various tests of measures to develop new target groups and channels.

Other operating expenses increased by 21% to € 25.4 million (2024: € 21.0 million). In addition to strategic marketing expenses, which rose by 16% to € 15.5 million (2024: € 13.4 million), this was primarily due to an increase in the direct and indirect costs of business operations. The further development of the product mix led to a 21% increase in direct operating costs to € 4.9 million (2024: € 4.0 million). The increase in indirect operating costs to € 4.9 million (2024: € 3.6 million) was in particular due to external consulting services as well as external staff and software costs.

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Despite the higher costs, ZEAL was able to increase EBITDA disproportionately by 89% to € 17.7 thousand (2024: € 9.4 thousand) thanks to efficiency improvements and strong sales growth. At € 15.6 thousand, EBIT more than doubled compared to the previous year (2024: € 7.5 thousand). Net profit for the period fell by 53% to € 9.8 million (2024: € 21.1 million) due to the first-time recognition of deferred tax assets in the previous year.

Leading betting platform Stake proudly announces that Ultimate Fighting Championship (“UFC”) Women’s Flyweight World Champion, Valentina Shevchenko, has signed on as a Global Ambassador for the brand.

One of the most iconic and celebrated athletes in combat sports, Shevchenko currently reigns as the UFC Flyweight World Champion and holds the coveted No. 1 spot in the UFC’s Women’s Pound-for-Pound rankings. A Muay Thai specialist from Kyrgyzstan, Shevchenko has dominated the MMA world since her UFC debut in 2015, and continues to build her legacy as one of the sport’s all-time greats. She will next defend her title on May 11 against top contender Manon Fiorot of France.

With this partnership, Shevchenko joins a championship roster of Stake ambassadors that includes UFC stars Merab Dvalishvili, Alexandre Pantoja, Max Holloway, Alex Pereira, and Israel Adesanya.

Speaking on the partnership, Shevchenko said:

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“Stake has become one of the most important and exciting partners of the UFC, and I’m proud to now be a Global Ambassador for the brand. Stake is the home of champions, and I’m excited to work with its incredible team.”

Akhil Sarin, Chief Marketing Officer at Stake, added:

“We’re absolutely thrilled to welcome Valentina to the Stake family. It’s rare to see a true legend of the sport still performing at the absolute highest level, and we’re excited to build a long and successful partnership together.  We feel that the Stake brand is now synonymous with the UFC, and our relationships with the very best athletes in the sport helps us continue to grow in the MMA sphere.”