Portugal is set to become the first European national football team to launch a Fan Token on the Socios.com fan engagement platform. 

Following a partnership between the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) and Chiliz, the sports and entertainment blockchain provider, the $POR Fan Token Offering will take place on the Socios.com fan engagement and rewards app at 12:00 GMT on Wednesday 14 July 2021. 

1,000,000 $POR Fan Tokens will go on sale in the FTO®, priced at EUR€2 each. After the FTO®, the market will set the price. 

Nuno Moura, FPF’s Chief Marketing Officer, said: “We’re really excited for the launch of the $POR Fan Token. Fans can become part of a global, digital community of supporters bonded by their shared passion for the team and look forward to many innovative engagement and reward opportunities on Socios.com.”

Alexandre Dreyfus, CEO of Chiliz and Socios.com, added: “The Portugal Fan Token Offering FTO® will be a momentous occasion for us as they become the first European national team to launch a Fan Token. $POR Fan Tokens will provide owners with new, exciting and rewarding experiences on Socios.com. 

“Socios.com will become a digital meeting place for millions of Portugal fans around the world. Fans who want to become a part of this vibrant new community need to be ready when the FTO® begins at 12:00 GMT+1 this Wednesday on Socios.com.”

Staying with Socios.com, last week, the NBA’s Boston Celtics became the latest American sports team to partner with the platform.

New Jersey-based sports betting exchange Prophet has announced a multi-year market access agreement with Caesar Entertainment, covering the states of New Jersey and Indiana. 

The agreement with Caesars will see Prophet launch its peer-to-peer sports betting exchange, betprophet.co, initially in New Jersey for the 2021 NFL and college football season, and Indiana in 2022, before future rollouts to additional U.S. states. Prophet will offer its services on web, iOS, Android and via their public API.

Dean Sisun, Prophet Chief Executive Officer (CEO), commented: “We are delighted to announce our agreement with Caesars which will see Prophet launch for the 2021 football season. Prophet is going to be the sports betting exchange of choice because of its simplicity and focus on sports betting principles.

“We are for the customers who want the best experience and prices on the market. Our customers will have the luxury of placing bets on spread and total markets at even (+100) odds, not being limited on any action, and also have the ability to create their own odds on markets offered. For example, if the spread on a game is -6, but you want -5.5, you can make that offer with Prophet. Same goes for both moneyline and total markets.”

Founded in 2018 by Dean Sisun, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and Jake Benzaquen, Chief Operating Officer (COO), Prophet is a peer-to-peer sports betting exchange that was formerly licensed in the UK and operated out of London. 

Prophet has now brought its team and technology stateside to tackle the US market, which is solely concentrated on sportsbooks. Prophet’s exchange technology allows users to bet spread and totals at even (+100) odds rather than traditional -110 odds, and benefit from lower vig on moneyline markets, all with no limits. Prophet also allows its users the ability to market-make with public API access, should they wish to trade more quickly and in bulk.

Flutter Entertainment has announced the sale of Oddschecker Global Media, and the appointment of Amy Howe as Interim CEO of FanDuel Group. 

Oddschecker is being sold to Bruin Capital in a deal worth up to GBP£155M (approx. US$215.2M), with the transaction likely to close in Q3 2021. The transaction consists of £135M in cash upon completion, and a deferred contingent consideration of up to £20M. 

Amy Howe is stepping up at FanDuel, replacing departing Matt King, who handed in his notice on 12 May 2021. Howe only joined FanDuel from Live Nation Entertainment in February this year. 

Flutter CEO, Peter Jackson, commented: “Matt leaves the business in a position of strength and we wish him well for the future. The appointment of Amy, working alongside the wider FanDuel leadership team, will support the key focus on growing the business and retaining our No. 1 position in the US market.”

Apollo Global Management-backed European gambling company Sazka Group is thought to be assessing plans to go public. 

Sazka Group is part of Czech billionaire Karel Komarek’s KKCG Group, and currently offers lotteries, scratch cards games, sports betting and more in the Czech Republic, Greece, Austria, Italy, and Cyprus. 

In November 2020, Sazka Group secured a €500M investment from Apollo Global Management.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Komarek has a net worth of around US$3 billion, with Sazka reporting EUR€538.1M of adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation, last year.

Bloomberg has quoted sources familiar with the matter as saying Sazka could possibly list in London, and as early as the second half of this year. 

Esports Entertainment Group (EEG) has announced a partnership with Ohio-based Hall of Fame Resort and Entertainment Company (HOFV). 

The agreement makes EEG the official esports supplier of the Hall of Fame Village powered by Johnson Controls, and will see the company operate a Helix eSports facility at the Canton, Ohio venue – which is widely recognised as America’s premier sports Hall of Fame. 

Michael Crawford, President and CEO of HOFV, commented: “With the popularity of esports and its continued upwards trajectory, we are thrilled to partner with the highly respected EEG to offer fans a new state-of-the-art facility at the Village.

“Having an EEG-powered esports complex as part of our development on campus adds another compelling opportunity for gaming enthusiasts and guests to engage in virtual environments as well as offering us the ability to draw in fans from all over the world — both in person and virtually — providing us with strategic growth opportunities within our company’s gaming vertical.”

Grant Johnson, CEO of Esports Entertainment Group, added: “We are excited to work with HOFV to bring esports to the Hall of Fame Village powered by Johnson Controls. This partnership places our brand in front of professional football fans globally and will place a Helix eSports center right in Canton. It also aligns extremely well with our recent strategic push into Ohio, which gained momentum in recent months through our partnership with the Cleveland Cavaliers.”

EEG, which operates the VIE esports wagering platform, is already licensed to offer betting in New Jersey, and the new partnership with HOFV clearly offers the potential of expanding wagering operations into Ohio when/if the legislation allows. 

Staying with EEG, last month the company announced a new gaming and esports initiative in partnership with the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens. 

Data and technology supplier Genius Sports has expanded its existing partnership with DIMAYOR, the governing body of the premier competitions in Colombian soccer.

Genius Sports now has the exclusive rights to capture and distribute official DIMAYOR data and live video streams for regulated sports betting. This will include all Liga BetPlay, Torneo BetPlay, Copa BetPlay, and Superliga BetPlay games.

Through the new agreement, Genius Sports’ network of over 150 regulated sportsbook partners will gain unprecedented access to more official premium data and streaming content from across Latin America. DIMAYOR joins other recent partnership wins for Genius, including the National Football League, Argentine Football Association and Liga MX.

To maintain the transparency and fairness of Colombian soccer, Genius Sports will continue to provide its premium Bet Monitoring System. By analysing global betting activity on DIMAYOR’s events, using predictive algorithms, Genius Sports’ technology helps to automatically flag any potentially suspicious betting activity.

Fernando Jaramillo, President of DIMAYOR, said: “The partnership between Genius and Colombian Professional Soccer is very important and a reflection of the growing global interest in our product. It is very rewarding that a multinational company with recognition in the fields of official data for betting and more is interested in our competitions and invites us to seek methods so that we continue to grow.

“The clubs and DIMAYOR hope to repay Genius’ trust and that this alliance will be renewed and expanded to the extent that we are all pleased with what we can obtain from each other.”

Mark Locke, CEO of Genius Sports, added: “Colombia has been pivotal to the global success of Genius Sports since we first opened our LATAM headquarters in Medellin in 2016. Expanding our partnership with DIMAYOR, one of Colombia’s premier sports organisations, is another major milestone that will help drive the league’s expansion and deliver even more premium content to our sportsbook partners around the world.”

Staying with Genius Sports, earlier this week, the company announced it had secured a permanent sports wagering license in the US state of West Virginia.