News

StarzPlay Launches Free-To-Play Fantasy Sports Game In MENA

The game lets players make predictions on live Serie A matches and regional leagues in order to win prizes.

Published

2 years ago

August 16, 2023

Nour Nasir

StarzPlay

SVOD platform StarzPlay has introduced a new title known as Fantasy Sports in the MENA region, a free-to-play Web3 fantasy sports game.

Launched ahead of the 2023/24 Series A season, StarzPlay Fantasy Sports allows players to make score forecasts and predict possession percentages within the in-game arenas. Successful predictions enable players to win various prizes, including STARZ$, the in-game currency usable for acquiring NFTs.

In the future, the currency will be exchangeable for platform subscriptions, football merchandise, and even Serie A match tickets, complete with meet-and-greet sessions with football icons. While the game is essentially free to play, players have the option to buy and trade NFTs within the real-time marketplace. This empowers them to build distinct teams and boost their predictive abilities.

Alessandro Masaro, Chief Strategy Officer at StarzPlay, said, “StarzPlay Fantasy Sports is the first-of-its-kind blockchain service in the region which will give customers a new dimension to engage with sports while competing to win incredible prizes. Our goal is to make StarzPlay a hub for sports entertainment and provide users and rights holders with more opportunities to interact and build stronger and more valuable relationships. We believe this is the first step of a larger plan which will see StarzPlay Fantasy Sports expand into other leagues and sports in the near future”.

Also Read: Best Video Streaming Services In The Middle East

The release of StarzPlay Fantasy Sports is noteworthy due to the title’s cutting-edge Web3 and blockchain technology. The game uses Amazon AWS as a serverless infrastructure to support the peak of users and provide a stable, high-quality experience during matches.

Related Topics:Blockchain NFTs StarzPlay Web3

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News

Stake Powers Instant Payouts With Checkout.com Pay To Card

The new feature lets investors in the UAE, KSA, and UK receive real estate returns in minutes — cutting withdrawal times to under 10 minutes.

Published

2 days ago

June 19, 2025

Nour Nasir

stake powers instant payouts with checkout.com pay to card

Stake, a leading digital real estate investment platform, has unveiled Pay to Card, a next-generation withdrawal feature built on Checkout.com’s global payment infrastructure. The integration enables investors to have dividends and returns credited directly to their bank cards — often within minutes — dramatically reducing the traditional multi-day payout process.

After a successful pilot in May involving over 200 users, some investors reported receiving their funds in under 10 minutes. Ricardo Brizido, CPTO and Co-Founder of Stake, emphasized the importance of speed and reliability: “With Pay to Card, we’re eliminating unnecessary delays and putting returns in our investors’ hands almost instantly. This feature was built to directly solve one of the most common pain points in real estate investing, and it’s already driving strong results”.

The feature launch coincides with rapid growth in real-time finance across the Middle East. Checkout.com’s “State of Digital Commerce in MENA 2025” report highlights a 388% year-on-year surge in Account Funding Transactions (AFTs) in the UAE, reflecting strong demand for immediate payout solutions. The same study recorded a 176% increase in total processing volume from 2023 to 2024 and noted that daily online transactions have jumped 320% since 2020.

Since its 2021 debut, Stake has facilitated over AED 1 billion in property transactions, advancing its mission to democratize real estate investment in high-growth markets. By integrating Pay to Card, Stake reinforces its commitment to customer-centric innovation and operational transparency.

Also Read: Binance Enters Syrian Market As Sanctions Lifted

Remo Giovanni Abbondandolo, General Manager for MENA at Checkout.com, praised the collaboration: “Stake has always led with customer-first financial experiences. Together, we’re meeting the expectations of a region that is no longer just digital-first, but real-time-first. Pay to Card exemplifies how modern payment infrastructure can directly solve investor pain points”.

Pay to Card is now available to all Stake users in the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the United Kingdom. By slashing withdrawal times from days to minutes, Stake and Checkout.com are setting a new standard for seamless, on-demand real estate investing.