The world’s largest retailer is expanding its use of artificial intelligence as companies across sectors adopt the technology to simplify tasks and cut costs.

Walmart has announced AI tools including generative AI-powered ‘Sparky,’ which is available on its app to assist customers with product suggestions or summarizing product reviews, among other options.

Walmart, the world’s largest retailer is expanding its use of artificial intelligence as companies across sectors adopt the technology. REUTERS

The company’s growing investment in AI is also aimed at closing the gap with online behemoth Amazon, which had a head start with its chatbot, Rufus, a Gen AI-powered shopping assistant that answers various shopping queries.

Walmart’s tie-up with the ChatGPT-maker follows a similar partnership OpenAI announced last month with Etsy and Shopify.

About 15% of total referral traffic for Walmart in September was from ChatGPT, up from 9.5% in August, data from SimilarWeb showed.

However, referrals are only a minor source of traffic and ChatGPT referrals accounted for less than 1% of total web traffic for Walmart, the research firm said.

Walmart shares were up about 5% on Tuesday.

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BetBlocker is an app that allows users to set it to block gambling websites. It’ll even give options for VPN services for people trying to skirt around it. Contained within the app is a list of websites that it adds to exclusion lists on the device to prevent access. Once activated, the pages simply will not load until it’s deactivated or the user finds a way around it.

Stake, the crypto-backed gambling site, also partnered with BetBlocker in 2024, and in August 2025, a Finnish company, Casino Guru, began work on localization for the app.

Reported by Gambling Insider, Pedro Romero, the Chief of Safer Gambling Partnerships for BetBlocker, said:

“We are very excited to announce that MGM Resorts International has partnered with BetBlocker to strengthen player protection efforts.

“This collaboration reflects a shared commitment to making safer gambling tools accessible, visible, and stigma-free, ensuring that help is always within reach.

“Big thanks to the MGM team and especially to Garrett and Richard for their leadership and support in prioritising safer gambling and digital wellbeing.”

BetMGM and others increase safety

Multiple companies have begun moving to increase safety around gambling, as its prevalence increases worldwide. With huge risks on offshore and unregulated sites, as well as the creeping “social gaming”, like sweepstakes casinos, it’s never been more important to provide security for the customer.

In September, BetMGM made other moves in the space, partnering up with the American Gaming Association (AGA) to run a Responsible Gaming Education Month. Earlier, in July, the company also brought in its ex-NBA star and company ambassador to promote responsible gambling in Puerto Rico.

Featured image: BetMGM

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The agreement brings Stats Perform’s Bet LiveStreams service to EstrelaBet, which covers more than 20,000 professional men’s and women’s matches every year across 80 competitions worldwide. Fans will be able to watch games from Spain’s LaLiga, the English Football League and Carabao Cup, various Concacaf tournaments, South American leagues in countries like Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and Mexico, along with competitions in Asia.

Ushering in a new era of #Opta-powered premium live football streaming and stats markets.

@EstrelaBet have partnered with Stats Perform to provide a more innovative and engaging betting experience, covering 20,000+ matches across 80 competitions.

https://t.co/lIEMw6U2xX pic.twitter.com/wrLTgYmSb9

— Stats Perform (@StatsPerform) September 9, 2025

On top of live streams, customers will also be able to bet on in-depth player and team stats powered by Opta data. Altenar, an accredited Opta for Betting partner, will create and settle specialized betting markets for more than 90 competitions and 11,000 matches each year.

EstrelaBet and Stats Perform deal a ‘major upgrade’

In a press release, Fellipe Fraga, EstrelaBet’s Chief Business Officer, said the updates are aimed at building stronger customer trust and keeping fans more engaged: “These are two major upgrades for EstrelaBet. Firstly, it’s vital for customer trust for us to build stats betting experiences with the same consistently-collected soccer data used globally by the biggest professional teams, broadcasters and media, and that is Opta.

“Secondly, the quality and scale of Stats Perform’s premium live streaming package means our customers can quickly watch lots of the games they’re betting on, which further increases their entertainment and enjoyment from our sportsbook.”

Steve Xeller, Chief Revenue Officer at Stats Perform, said the deal reflects the company’s commitment to expanding live sports data services. “Live streaming creates the ultimate trusted and entertaining in-play betting experience, and we’ve built a popular official rights portfolio, especially in football, delivered through award-winning technology.

“We’ve also invested heavily in expanding the range of competitions covered by our specialist Opta API for sportsbooks. These investments ensure that operators like EstrelaBet, and partners like Altenar, can create personalised, innovative, and engaging sports betting experiences. We look forward to seeing the results they achieve.”

Earlier this year, Bet LiveStreams picked up two big honors. It was named Industry Innovation of the Year for South America at the SBC Americas Awards and also took home the title of Live Streaming Supplier of the Year at the EGR Awards.

Featured image: EstrelaBet / Stats Perform via World Lotteries

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The partners at his firm, Symphony Technology Group, were concerned. Where would he get the money? Surely not from their smallish PE fund based in Menlo Park, Calif., with just $10 billion in assets?

His answer was emphatic: He and his investors — a slew of rich dudes as well as another, larger private equity house – had put together the money even if most of it isn’t his. And as of last week, Chisholm is said to have convinced skeptical partners at Symphony that he actually can buy the Celtics in a record-setting, $6.1 billion deal.

Bill Chisholm is said to have convinced skeptical partners at Symphony that he actually can buy the Celtics in a record-setting, $6.1 billion deal. Symphony Technology Group

Yet, nearly a week after revealing his stunning bid, he has yet to convince many in the sports business world, on Wall Street and even among his dealmaking colleagues in Silicon Valley. Symphony is known for mid-sized buyouts and investments. Chisholm himself is scarcely known on Wall Street or in the sports business.

Then there’s the strict rules for buying a team imposed by the NBA.

A prospective owner – or so-called “control person” – must come up with cash, not debt. It must be 15% of the deal price, half of which needs to be delivered immediately, and the other half in three years’ time. That means Chisholm would need to plunk down at least $450 million in cash now, and the rest later – no small chunk of change for anyone who’s not a billionaire several times over.

For comparison, buyout baron Josh Harris, one of the co-founders of PE giant Apollo Management, set the previous record price for buying NFL’s Washington Commanders for $6.05 billion. He’s worth more than $10 billion.

Josh Harris, one of the co-founders of PE giant Apollo Management, set the previous record price for buying NFL’s Washington Commanders for $6.05 billion. Getty Images

Other nagging questions linger. Chisholm lives in California, not Boston. He isn’t even a season ticket holder. (An associate says he grew up in the Boston area and watches nearly every game on TV).

One NBA owner told The Post “I have no clue who he is.” A banker who knows him from Silicon Valley deal making says: “This doesn’t add up.”

One of those skeptics also appears to be Steve Pagliuca, a senior adviser to the giant PE firm Bain Capital, and a minority owner of the team (Pagliuca did not return a request for comment).

“Pags,” as he is known locally, is a voluble presence on the Boston sports scene. Recently, he tried to throw shade on Chisholm’s bid, posting on X that his own bid “was a fully guaranteed offer at a record price…we had no debt or private equity money that would potentially hamstring our ability to compete in the future.”

The Celtics have one of the highest payrolls in the NBA, and high debt levels from the new owners could make that difficult to meet. Getty Images

The Celtics, it should be noted, have one of the highest payrolls in the NBA, and high debt levels from the new owners could make that difficult to meet.

The 56-year-old Chisholm declined to comment on any of this. But people who know Chisholm and bankers representing the current owners, the father-and-son team of Irv and Wyc Grousbeck, say he meets all of the league’s requirements.

One associate says he is worth close to $4 billion, the result of three decades of steady deal making after leaving Dartmouth to embark on a career in private equity. He told his partners in the meeting a few weeks ago he plans to come up with $500 million in cash now and $500 million later to meet the league requirements, sources confirmed to The Post.

Bankers, meanwhile, say his bid fairly bested marquee names in the business of sports – including Pagliuca.

Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck and minority owner Steve Pagliuca in 2012. Pagliuca said his bid “had no debt or private equity money that would potentially hamstring our ability to compete in the future.” AP

Chisholm hired Goldman Sachs to assemble his equity team, but also worked closely with Grousbeck’s formidable banking ensemble: Gregg Lemkau, the long-time Goldman Sachs dealmaker who now runs BDT & MSD Partners; and Mary Erdoes, the powerful head of JPMorgan’s wealth management business.

“Mary would never give the greenlight to this unless he has the money,” said one top JPMorgan executive with knowledge of the matter. A person close to Lemkau added of Chisolm: “His was by far the highest bid,” adding that “it’s financed” – Wall Street jargon meaning debt to pay for the deal is all lined up.

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A person close to Chisholm denies that he put up any debt in the deal himself, though this person also declined to comment on any borrowing by other equity players. In addition to several investors who haven’t weren’t mentioned in the press release for the deal, Chisholm’s money includes a $1 billion-plus commitment from the PE firm Sixth Street, which is well known in sports circles. Sixth Street has the largest single investment in the team.

It doesn’t hurt to know that Lemkau, the banker repping the Grousbecks, and Chisholm go way back. Both are Dartmouth grads and played on the school’s soccer team together. People who know them say they’re not besties but they have stayed in touch over the years and remain friendly.

“There’s a lot of rumors out there about Bill’s bid, but it’s from parties with an agenda,” said one person close to Chisholm. “His money is real.”

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