One of the most successful betting companies in the world, 1xBet, has announced a partnership with its first ambassador in India – renowned cricketer Dwayne Bravo.

The athlete is known for his performances for the West Indies and various teams from India and other countries. Bravo currently plays in the Indian Premier League for the Chennai Super Kings. The agreement between the bookmaker and the sportsman is valid for one year.

Through this collaboration, Indian players will be able to participate in various events featuring Dwayne Bravo. Also, the bookmaker and the sportsman are already preparing new unique promotions and offers for their fans. In addition, Bravo will appear in various 1xBet advertising campaigns.

“We are delighted to have signed our first ambassador in India and that it is Dwayne Bravo. Our partnership with the athlete promises to be very fruitful,” the company said.

“This is a consummate professional who is the personification of confidence, dedication and constant development. His game is mesmerising and the list of trophies and achievements is impressive. We are sure that together with Dwayne Bravo, we will reach new heights and will be able to please Indian players with great offers and joint events.”

Dwayne Bravo said: “I am honoured to be the first 1xBet ambassador in India. 1xBet have shown they are characterised by ambition and a desire to go forward constantly, so I didn’t hesitate for a second when I was offered the opportunity of becoming a partner of the company. I think that together we will bring a lot of joy to all Indian sports betting fans.”

Managed hosting, connectivity, cloud, and security provider to iGaming businesses adds to its growing cloud and partner service capability as a Microsoft Silver Partner

Continent 8 Technologies has achieved Microsoft Silver Partner status as part of the Microsoft Partnership Network programme, allowing it to further strengthen its cloud offering to operators and suppliers in the industry.

The network allows for companies to undergo various tests and close scrutiny to ascertain their ability to deliver high-quality software, solutions and support based on Microsoft technologies. Continent 8 has achieved Silver Partner status for two competencies: Datacentre and Application Development.

To achieve this status, the company completed official training tracks and exams, as well as having to meet various performance requirements.

In obtaining Silver Partner status, Continent 8 is now considered part of a group of Partner Network members that have “proven expertise in delivering quality solutions”, according to Microsoft.

As a result, Continent 8 will augment its existing cloud offering with Microsoft Azure Stack, initially offering Azure Stack HCI. This will allow partners to refresh their virtualisation host using a hybrid and hyperconverged solution integrated with Azure. The solution will be live in the coming weeks.

This strategic partnership forms part of Continent 8’s commitment to be the leading multi-cloud solutions provider to the global gambling industry, which comprises its Public and Private cloud offerings globally, as well as hyperscale solutions.

Justin Cosnett, Chief Product Officer at Continent 8 Technologies, said: “Our cloud offering continues to develop, and I’m delighted that Continent 8 has joined the Microsoft Partner Network having achieved Silver Partner status.

“A big thank you to the team involved in obtaining this accreditation. The certification acknowledges our proven expertise in delivering quality cloud solutions to our customers.”

Michael Tobin, Founder and CEO of Continent 8 Technologies, added: “Achieving Silver Partner status with Microsoft is a strategic step for Continent 8 and forms part of continued efforts to be the leading multi-cloud solutions provider to organisations in the global gambling industry.”

British competitive gaming culture brand EXCEL ESPORTS is excited to announce the launch of its competitive FIFA team. The announcement is accompanied by the organisation signing FIFA professional Tom ‘Tom’ Leese in the biggest FIFA transfers ever, as well as signing renowned FIFA ex-professional Nathan “Zelonius” Horton as the team manager. One of the most popular games globally, the new signings will position EXCEL’s FIFA roster as one of the strongest competitive teams internationally. EXCEL will also reveal a second player joining the squad soon, follow all updates on xl.gg/FIFAxl.gg/FIFA.

Boasting an already impressive competitive esports roster, the move into FIFA was a natural progression for the outspoken British esports brand, especially with its current ambassador, professional footballer Dele Alli. An opportunity to celebrate and highlight UK based FIFA talent at competitive tournaments globally, EXCEL will be creating engaging video and social media content as well as community activities for its new roster offering The expansion into the FIFA esports space also allows EXCEL the opportunity to connect with FIFA’s fast-growing fanbase, which will be new territory for the esports brand.

Aligning with their future ambitions for further developing a highly-anticipated competitive FIFA platform globally, EXCEL will also work closely with EA and participating teams to drive more exposure in media and in-game assets, including offering fans an exclusive EXCEL ESPORTS out-of-game kit. The new kit will include a new EXCEL ESPORTS jersey, complete with the addition of new partner EE, following a recent expansion of EXCEL’s partnership with BT.

The biggest transfer in competitive FIFA history, EXCEL has signed the number one ranked FIFA player in the world for the last two years, Tom ‘Tom’ Leese. Bursting into the scene at the ripe age of 17, Tom began competing online against other competitive players and pro players as a hobby before discovering his skills and passion for the game. Placing top six at his first tournament, the FIFA17 Ultimate Team Championship 2017, Tom went on to sign his first deal with professional team FUTWIZ. After finding his competitive feet and joining EXCEL coming off the back of winning the E-Premier League, Tom will bring undoubtedly entertaining content and his dedicated fan base across with him.

Originally a teacher who posted educational articles on FIFA Reddit during his spare time, Nathan “Zelonius” Horton begun streaming and playing full time after his following grew over five years ago. Shortly after playing full time, Zelonius qualified for his first tournament and was signed with FUTWIZ. Joining the team with the aim to help EXCEL become the most successful FIFA team in the world, Zelonius believes together, they will have the right infrastructure to achieve this goal.

EXCEL has also bought on distinguished sports and celebrity photographer David Ellis to help develop the creative direction for the players and team. Having photographed some of the most influential athletes globally, including the likes of Jack Grealish, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, David will bring a wealth of creative experience to EXCEL. Through his imagery, David will help to shape the identity of EXCEL’s players visually and create bold statements across EXCEL’s apparel lines and campaigns, to ensure the organisation stands out like no esports team has done before.

CEO of EXCEL ESPORTS, Wouter Sleijffers comments: “We are thrilled to announce to the EXCEL community our launch into the competitive FIFA space, as well as the signings of Tom and Zelonius. We have been following the competitive FIFA community for a while now and believe it’s an area where we can strive, especially within the UK and Europe.

“Bringing on some of the best talents that the competitive UK FIFA scene has to offer, alongside the incredible David Ellis to capture it all, we can’t wait to see what Tom and Zelonius bring to the team and look forward to seeing them dominating the scene. We are also excited to be announcing some more FIFA news to fans shortly!”

FIFA professional Tom ‘Tom’ Leese comments: “I am proud to be joining the EXCEL team as their first-ever professional FIFA signing! When EXCEL first approached me, the idea of working together definitely caught my attention. The drive within the EXCEL team to constantly improve and the commitment to jumping straight into the competitive FIFA space really excites me.

“I want to take my competitive performance and content up another gear and continue to build myself and the growing team whilst doing this, and I feel EXCEL is the perfect place for me to do this. I believe we both share a vision and drive to establish ourselves as a leading team in the scene and I’m looking forward to making that happen!”

FIFA manager Nathan “Zelonius” Horton comments: “I am excited to be announced as the manager of EXCEL’s first FIFA team! I truly believe in the vision of this FIFA team and think it is a really exciting team to be joining. I can’t wait to help EXCEL to become the most successful team in FIFA – especially with some exciting upcoming announcements.

“I also really resonate with EXCEL’s power of better. As a content creator in FIFA I’ve had numerous in-depth conversations with viewers where I’ve been able to help them and using the platform I have at EXCEL and the great tools we have here I really want to do the best I can to embody this manifesto.”

Pete Jeavons, Director of Marketing Communications at EE, said: “We’re the UK’s best network for gaming and partner to the home of football Wembley Stadium connected by EE; so expanding our sponsorship to see EE partner with EXCEL’s first competitive FIFA team is something we’re hugely excited about.

“As well as showing our support for the team by adding EE to the new EXCEL ESPORTS jersey, we will be working with EXCEL over the coming months to use our partnership and our technology to bring gaming fans even closer to the action, so watch this space.”