Malta is a serious center of iGaming known worldwide for its talent & creativity in our industry. But it is also a place where people know how to celebrate life, enjoy a meal together & toast to success. I enjoyed one of the best Italian meals of my life family style at Trattoria da Pippo in Valleta. Check out the pasta de mare photo!

Thank you Per Hellberg for the hospitality and absolutely awesome dining experience!! This was followed by a champagne toast at the Soho HQ for MediaTroopers by the entire team! Extremely greatful and heart warming. Thank you!

Next up, a sushi dinner with the teams from newest SCCG Management client partner Symplify / Jada Gaming AI! And even met my first ever Gibraltarian. Whatever you do, don’t feed chips to the monkeys!!

Finally a late night snack with fellow Dartmouth College grad John Christmas! A highlight of the day was a happy hour drink with dear friend Damian Xuereb of Strive Gaming ! I have missed him during covid!

Also enjoyed meeting Paul Myatt of Aspire Global for the first time in person. Life is a blessing because of the people who live it with you!!!

Grazie!!🍾🥂🍷

Fatima Ekekrantz Robert Kimber Alberto Alfieri Josh Jones SCCG Venture Fund Shmulik (Sam) Segal Benjamin Truman Dan Alexander Adam Noble

#malta #igaming #gratitude #thankful #MrLasVegas

SCCG Management CEO and Founder, Stephen Crystal announced a partnership with the competitive social media platform, CliquePicks as a strategic equity owner and investor, to provide investment, business development, and advisory services to grow the company within the North American sports wagering markets.

Stephen Crystal said of the partnership, “As sports betting expands across North America, we look for systems and technologies that help bettors express their interest in sports betting as part of their lifestyle, beyond the moments around a particular wager. CliquePicks is part of the fandom of sports wagering and the more encompassing sports betting lifestyle.”

Nick Giangreco, Founder and CEO Of CliquePicks said: “CliquePicks is thrilled to be partnering with SCCG. Their industry-leading resources and strategic advice will play a pivotal role in enhancing our current business model and marketing approach as we build toward our upcoming active launch. SCCG’s expertise will open doors to potentially vast opportunities for CliquePicks across platforms and partnerships. Teaming up with SCCG, CliquePicks will unite the interactive rivalry of fantasy leagues with the thrill of sports wagering, giving our users the power to make every game a rivalry!”

SCCG Management will be in Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota meeting client partners and friends for meetings from March 20-24, 2022. If you are interested in meeting up with Stephen Crystal during this period, please contact him directly at the information below:

In today's issue, our featured articles are:

Founder and CEO, SCCG Management

stephen.crystal@sccgmanagement.com

+1 702 427 9354 (Mobile/WhatsApp)

by Isaac Paglialunga

Football season has officially come to an end. Sunday February 13^th the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams competed in what would be one of the closest Super Bowls over the past few years. With 1:25 left in the 4^th quarter Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford found his number one receiver Cooper Kupp for a one-yard touchdown pass, this put the Rams up 23-20. The Bengals weren’t going down without a fight however as the Bengals drove the ball into Rams territory before ultimately getting stopped on 4^th down. Cooper Kupp found himself winning Super Bowl MVP. This wrapped up an extremely entertaining post season, as every game in the last three rounds was decided by one score. Last week with all the anticipation going into the game I gave projections of what to expect for the Super Bowl, this week I will be recapping every projection I gave.

by Kyle Neverett

Hawaii has long taken an anti-gambling stance, so there is no chance that a sports betting bill would pass unless the terms were incredibly influential for the state. Rep. Mizuno is calling for a 55% tax rate on sports gaming, which would put Hawaii at the highest rate of any state so far. Mizuno states that any money raised would go to a lot of good things like affordable housing, and education for kids. He also wants to set aside a portion of any potential revenue to establish problem gaming programs.

Mizuno also introduced HB 1820 last month, which is pushing for a single casino in Waikiki on the island of O’ahu. Having a venue such as this would not only benefit tourists, who have never had any option to gamble while on vacation, but also the locals, by creating new jobs and adding an additional hub for tourism. Hawaii obviously has a lot to offer tourists in the form of natural wonder, but having a casino can further contribute to the state’s economic development.

There are so many reasons why legalized gambling would be a positive for the state of Hawaii. Not only would they be protecting consumers by creating a regulated gaming atmosphere, but they can create jobs for its citizens in a new sector, and reap the benefits of the 55% tax threshold. It may be difficult at first to find an operator willing to give up so much of their profits, but after seeing the early success that New York has had operating under a 51% rate, I don’t think it would take too long to find somebody willing. While the state ranks 40th in terms of population, it sees millions of tourists each and every year, making it a no-brainer for an operator to enter this lucrative market. Hawaiian lawmakers have previously tried to introduce gabmling legislation as a way to generate more money for the state. Rep. Mizuno’s HB 1815 seems to have gained some traction as it passed its first reading. Hawaii is pretty far from a “normal” US state, but hopefully it will end up having a regulated gaming climate just like its counterparts.

THE GAMBLING INSIDER INTERNATIONAL NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

by Dominic Marius-Markham

Gambling Insider is the premier business-to-business publication for the gaming industry. Each issue brings you the inside track on the global gambling market, interviews with the field’s biggest movers and shakers, and in-depth analysis from some of the sharpest minds in the business.

Gambling Insider offers expert perspective on all the industry’s major talking points from online regulation in the US to the expansion of the European gaming market – all backed up by first-rate comment and astute debate from the people on the inside.

To kick things off, we’ll start in the States, where GeoComply recorded over 80 million betting transactions nationwide over the Super Bowl weekend.

This number represents an increase of 226% versus last year, a rise that can be largely attributed to the expanded legalisation of online sports betting in the US over the past 12 months.

There are 19 states which have fully legalised online sports betting, while a total of 31 states offer sports betting in some form.

Nevada, meanwhile, lifted its mask mandate, no longer requiring people to wear face coverings while in public indoor settings, including casinos.

Governor Steve Sisolak published an emergency directive allowing Nevadans to forgo a mask while indoors unless a local jurisdiction still imposes such a requirement.

Quick to follow suit, the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) issued a notice to licensees stating that gaming establishments will no longer be required to make their patrons and staff don face coverings.

And to round out our stateside news, New York’s Governor Kathy Hochul declared the Empire State’s mobile sports betting market a success, with nearly $2bn in wagers taken during the first 30 days of operation.

Between 8 January and 7 February, the state recorded $1.98bn in handle, while total gross gaming revenue (GGR) amounted to more than $138m.

At a 51% tax rate, this means New York has generated $70.6m to fund programmes that support education, youth sports and more key social services, including problem gambling prevention, addiction treatment and recovery.

In the Emerald Isle, William Hill has banned the use of credit cards for online betting in Ireland, as reported by the Irish Independent.

Several major betting companies, however, still accept credit card payments directly in Ireland in contravention of the Irish Safer Gambling Code.

Others that claim not to accept credit card bets reportedly do so indirectly, through apps such as Revolut and Apple Pay.

Over the Irish Sea and across the English Channel, Francaise des Jeux (FDJ) said 2021 was “très bonne,” posting €2.3bn ($2.6bn) in revenue, up 10% from pre-pandemic levels.

FDJ Group, which operates France’s national lottery, published its financial results for the prior year, reporting healthy revenue and growth figures.

Compared to 2019, the French company’s wagers grew by 11% to nearly €19bn, driven by “strong digital momentum.”

Digital bets now represent more than 11% of total wagers, while across its point-of-sale network, FDJ experienced 5% growth.

In Australia, the board of Crown Resorts unanimously recommended that shareholders vote in favour of the AU$8.9bn (US$6.33bn) offer from Blackstone Inc.

The deal would see the investment business acquire all of the shares in Crown by way of a scheme of arrangement at a price of AU$13.10 cash per share.

The consideration represents an increase in equity value of over AU$845m to the price of AU$11.85 cash per share initially offered by Blackstone in March 2021.

And finally, New Zealand’s SkyCity Entertainment Group reported a 145% decline in normalised profit after tax for the six months to 31 December 2021, with normalised EBITDA declining by 69%.

The operator noted that such declines were due to Covid-19 disruptions, saying: “The first half of the 2022 financial year was another challenging period for SkyCity with the company’s financial performance being materially impacted by significant Covid-19 disruptions, particularly in Auckland where the SkyCity Auckland business was closed for 107 days.”

SkyCity Online Casino revenue and earnings did, however, grow over the period, with around 10,000 active customers weekly.

SCCG Management curates a feed of news articles from over one hundred of the best industry news sources.

Keep up to date on the items in the news that interest and excite us!