Rytas Vilnius 2022 LKL winners try out new revolutionary sport

 Twain Sport, powered by the Hybrid Sports League and technology partner BetGames, hosted Lithuanian basketball champions Rytas Vilnius, to commemorate the launch of its new specialised hybrid sports vertical (T-Basket).

The recent 2022 Lithuanian Basketball League champions were the first professional team to participate in Twain Sport’s new hybrid basketball tournament (T-Basket), which is set to be launched by the Hybrid Sport League in collaboration with its partner company, BetGames.

The day’s celebratory competition with Rytas Vilnius saw the league’s top players compete head-to-head in 60 seconds of action to score the most points while shooting from different distances, randomly selected by computer.

Rytas Vilnius sports director, a former basketball player and 2009 EuroCup champion, Donatas Zavackas, ended the day by winning both tournaments played.

The Hybrid Sport League is the sport’s governing body and will coordinate and supervise the exciting new events schedule, which is set to commence in August 2022 in custom-built arenas across selected European locations.

Twain Sports’ series of hybrid tournaments will offer premium high-frequency action-packed sports, starting with T-Basket, with will deliver a full, head-to-head tournament every single hour – totalling a new match every three minutes.

The highly anticipated league is set to satisfy the demand for increased live sport with a high-frequency entertainment format, while maintaining the highest integrity protocols with safeguarding systems.

Commenting on the event, BetGames’ CEO Andreas Koeberl said: “It was a fantastic occasion to welcome the Vilnius Rytas basketball team to experience the thrill of T-Basket. Top professional athletes competing against each other in such an environment was great to see and made the absolute most of the new concept.

“Twain Sport is all about fast-paced entertainment, and with the tournaments going live in a matter of months, we are really excited to be partnering up as we begin announcing our first operator deals. Alongside this, we’re also going to be rolling out our football-themed tournaments (T-Kick) and more in 2023 and beyond.”

Giedrius Žibėnas, Head Coach for Vilnius Rytas added: “It’s an exciting opportunity to try this new concept, combining a fresh idea of entertainment and sport. The players never know if they are the winner or loser until the score appears at the end, creating a very competitive environment, even for professional athletes.”

“Nobody was entertained with 3×3 basketball at first – and while they said it’s impossible to become part of Olympics, we’ve already seen it expand into what it is today. I believe the same is true here. Even pro players are now choosing between 3×3 or 5×5 basketball. If you expand globally, you will find your audience.”

Chairman of the Hybrid Sports League, Sarunas Mazalas commented: “Our partnership with BetGames is a massive step forward for the Twain Sport project. Our league will now be streamed all around the world and we’re ready to transform the world of sports. It’s been a pleasure to host the Vilnius Rytas team and get the approval of a winning team to our winning concept.”

• 30.09. – 02.10. The Main Event: Conference, workshops, expo, pitching competitions, business meetings and game jam final presentation.
• The conference and interactive events are divided into 5 tracks: General, Art (visual, audial, haptics), Unreal Engine, XR and Board Games.
• The online matchmaking platform is available for all participants all 6 days, and the meetings can also be booked on-site. Registered members of the matchmaking will be able to participate both on-site and online.
• GWF uses the B2Match meeting and event management platform that works both on web browsers and mobile devices. This platform also handles video calls and conference streaming, so all functionality needed by the participants is neatly in one place.
• There will be a private Business area for business ticket holders in Tallink’s Fidel Bar with a nice view of the old town.

• 1 to 1 board games author and publisher pitch in a private, closed space, where publishers can take their time to test the game and converse with the authors.
• Early stage mentor pitch for anyone not ready for any other pitches, but still willing to train, test their prototype and get feedback. Jammers are welcome.
• Nordic Game Discovery Contest Baltic semi-finals where developers from Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania can showcase their games to publishers and industry experts and compete for a place in the finals.

• The Business Party (29.09.2022) will be available for organizers, speakers, partners and business ticket holders only.
• The Pool party (30.09.2022) will be available for organizers, speakers, partners, business ticket holders only and pool party ticket holders. There will be access to the pool area, sauna, hot tubs and a quieter area by the bar.
• The Afterparty (01.10.2022) will be available for almost everyone (except for student ticket holders). It will feature Marioke, a feast table and a quieter area for business conversations.

The Budget and Finance Committee of Lithuania’s Seimas (Parliamentary Assembly) has completed a draft decree proposing new standards on lottery play and advertising for the Baltic state.

The Committee’s headline measure has called on parliament to undertake a vote to raise the minimum age of purchase of lottery tickets from 16-to-18 years of age. If approved, Lithuania’s government will enforce a new lottery age restriction from 1 January 2023.

The decree has further ordered Olifėja, Lithuania’s state-sanctioned operator, to display age-range notifications and safer gambling warnings across its weekly lottery draws of Teleloto, Vikinglotto, Eurojackpot and further Instant-win games.

Olifėja serves as Lithuania’s national lottery steward, charged with raising funds for the National Olympic Committee, its business activities monitored by Lithuania’s Gaming Control Authority.

Since 2020, the successive Lithuanian governments of PMs Saulius Skvernelis and Ingrida Šimonytė have chosen to amend the laws of the 2016 Gambling Act.

Last year, the government ordered the Gaming Control Authority to ban all licensed operators from promoting any form of gambling incentive (bonuses, discounts, reward programmes).

Furthermore, the government granted the Gaming Control Authority direct powers to IP-block unlicensed operators and to issue bigger fines on non-compliant operators, changes that were sanctioned as a COVID-19 civic protection measure.

Lithuania carries amongst the strictest age laws for gambling in Europe, in which players must be +21 years of age to enter a gambling venue.