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Founder and CEO, SCCG Management

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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

The MLB will be implementing some big changes in the sport of baseball. The first which is probably the most minor is the new base pads. The MLB will start using bigger base pads this should make stealing bases easier for runners as well as giving them advantages when sliding in on a close play. I believe the biggest change is going to be the 12-team playoff format. I really enjoy this personally as it gives more teams a chance to compete. We have seen playoff expansion recently in the NBA and NFL, which have both added even more entertainment. Another major change that is coming is the implementation of the pitch clock. This can have drastic changes to the game as it can cause a pitcher to have to rush. Another big change being made is the shift is getting banned. The shift is a defensive strategy that entails the defense overloading players on one side of the field. The MLB defines this as having at least three of four infielders positioned on one side of second base. These changes aren’t going to be going into effect until the 2023 MLB season as they will be tested in the minor leagues first to see the impact it has on the games. 

As a huge baseball fan, I couldn’t be happier to hear the league reach and agreement with its players. I am not very happy with the pitch clock being implemented as well as the shift being banned as I believe those are both are parts of the game. The 12-team playoff format I believe can be very interesting as unlike most sports, the underdogs often prevail in the MLB playoffs. These changes can potentially change the game of baseball forever however, as we have seen in the past if the new changes are not positive, the league will be quick to remove them.

by Kyle Neverett

Calvin Ridley has not been in the league very long, but has had quite an eventful career up to this point. After bursting into the league as a playmaking receiver, Ridley sat out the 2021 season, citing mental health issues. While he was away with the team in his home state of Florida, he was placing bets on NFL games from his phone using the Hard Rock app. Someone from that operation reported his information to the league, who then launched an investigation of their own. It was recently reported that other NFL teams were making trade offers for Ridley, but the Falcons declined them knowing up the upcoming discipline that would be levied on the star player. 

Ridley placed a total roughly $3,900, some of those bets including the Falcons, his own team, to win. He placed mostly parlay bets, and lost a total of approximately $1,200 across all of his wagers. In a sign of the times, Ridley was quick to take to social media, claiming that he doesn’t have a gambling problem, and he would learn from his mistakes. He is not eligible to apply for reinstatement into the NFL until after the 2022 season is over. As a result of Ridley’s actions, he must forfeit his $11.1 million salary. Ridley is also in the final season of his rookie contract, which raises serious questions whether the Falcons will try to bring him back, considering he hasn’t suited up for them in a season as it is. 

While I 100% agree with the NFL’s decision to suspend Ridley without pay for violating the NFL’s gambling policy, I think that an entire season is way too long of a punishment. The league has a history of handing out shorter suspensions to players for issues such as domestic abuse, which is a legitimate crime. Ridley technically did not break any laws when he was wagering from his phone in Florida, but was certainly in the wrong. The NFL has had a long history of being anti-gambling, but I think they need to loosen the reins just a little bit, given their recent partnerships with large sportsbooks like Caesar’s, FanDuel, and DraftKings. One of the highlights of bringing regulated gambling to the country is that people like Calvin Ridley can be caught when doing things they are not supposed to. Unfortunately, regulators are the only ones that come out looking good in this situation.

THE GAMBLING INSIDER INTERNATIONAL NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

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.

Kicking things off in North America, legal wagering on the upcoming 2022 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, aka March Madness, could reach $3bn at regulated sportsbooks, according to PlayUSA.

The company, which focuses on news, analysis and research on the US gaming industry, said that tournament-specific wagering could triple the nearly $1bn handle taken in on February’s Super Bowl LVI. It could also top the 2021 NCAA Tournament as the most bet-on sporting event in US history.

It is expected that between $2.5bn and $3bn could be wagered across the country, a significant increase from the estimated $1.4bn placed on last year’s NCAA Tournament.

Our next stop is Britain, where the Gambling Commission declared Allwyn Entertainment the “preferred applicant” of the Fourth National Lottery licence. 

Current operator Camelot has overseen The National Lottery since its inception in 1994; however, a proposal from Allwyn led by Bid Chair Sir Keith Mills was deemed the best way of growing returns to good causes and revitalising The National Lottery in a sustainable way.

A transition plan will now be completed, led by Allwyn Chair and ex-Sainsbury’s boss Justin King, with Allwyn taking over responsibility for day-to-day operations from 1 February 2024 when Camelot’s current contract expires.

And in a packed week for UK news, two senior NHS clinicians called for a levy on gambling companies to fund harm prevention and treatment.

Professor Henrietta Bowden-Jones, Director of the National Problem Gambling Clinic (NPGC), and Dr Matt Gaskell, Clinical Lead for the NHS Northern Gambling Service, voiced their support for a levy on gambling companies.

In a paper for the Social Market Foundation (SMF) think-tank, Bowden-Jones and Gaskell backed calls for a “statutory levy” on gambling businesses, and said a new Joint Advisory Levy Board should be created.

On a lighter note, Paddy Power unveiled a supersized retirement card commemorating Tiger Roll, whose career came to an end during this year’s Cheltenham Festival.

The thoroughbred, who is estimated to have earned bettors approximately £500m ($652m) over his career, ran his final race on 16 March in the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase. 

Paddy Power sent a giant card to Cheltenham Racecourse via special delivery for people to sign, allowing punters to express their well wishes for his retirement. The card measured 10ft in height and 14ft in width.

Journeying North, to the land of ice and snow, the Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA) said it is “difficult to assess” what impact temporary liability measures have had on public health and consumer protection.

In evaluating online gambling restrictions put in place due to Covid-19, the regulator stated that it cannot easily attribute any developments to these temporary measures alone, as the pandemic and new gambling regulation will have also played a role.

These measures came into force on 2 July 2020 and were eventually lifted on 14 November 2021, but in determining what effect such restrictions had on public health and consumer protection, the SGA came up empty-handed.

Ending our travels, we arrive in Singapore, where the city-state’s Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA) will henceforth be known as the Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA). 

The Parliament of Singapore passed a bill, first read on 14 February 2022, to reform gambling laws in the small, urban nation. 

Under the new bill, the regulatory expertise of gambling has been consolidated under one department. Experience will be drawn from the previously separate CRA, Gambling Authority Unit and Ministry of Home Affairs. 

As detailed in the reform bill, the GRA will now have the authority to issue fines to violators of a new Gambling Control Act and unilaterally renew, revoke and distribute licenses.

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