SCCG Weekly Newsletter Volume 42

Volume 42 | May 27, 2021

WEEKLY EDITION
May 27, 2021

Welcoming the Memorial Day Weekend as a Time to Remember and to Look Forward

by Stephen Crystal

Founder, SCCG Management

Traditionally, Memorial Day honors those who died performing their military duties while serving in the United States Armed Forces in the US. We look back and remember these sacrifices at memorials across the country. These sacrifices were many and the shadows cast by each flag at every memorial stretch back two hundred and forty-five years.

In 2019, the Public Broadcasting Service sought to help put the wartime sacrifices of our service members into a broader context. The total number of Americans killed in all US wars exceeded 1.1 million. Of that number, over 116 thousand were attributed to World War I, and over 405 thousand to World War II. However, the largest loss of life of American wartime deaths belongs to the US Civil War, numbering nearly half a million lost.

There has been an understandable yet significant change in our understanding of these costs. During World War II, approximately 12% of the population served in the US Military. Today, less than one percent of the current population serves in active duty or the reserves.

Because of the significantly reduced level of participation in the US Armed Forces on a percentage basis, we have also seen a distancing from the Memorial Day established in 1971 as a national holiday to its cultural understanding today.

Recently, Memorial Day is predominantly seen as the unofficial start of the Summer. In the US, this is generally a time of great optimism and celebration for the country, as the summer season unlocks some of our favorite outdoor activities. This year, its coincidental pairing with the end of most national COVID-19 restrictions, has magnified this perception as we seek to satisfy the massive pent-up demand for life outside the walls of our homes.

As with most things, there are very few binary truths, and the meaning of Memorial day belongs to both. It is a holiday that is viewed with solemnity as we look back and optimism as we look forward, and we think that's okay.

As a company, we look forward to the opportunity to partner with the newest member of our team, retired Brigadier General Randall Sayre. Mr. Sayre served for five and a half years on Active Duty in the US Army, retiring in June 2006 from the Nevada National Guard. Randy was appointed to the Nevada Gaming Control Board in January 2007, after he was appointed Chief of the Investigations Division in 1990.

We remain highly optimistic about the future of our country, our industry, and the businesses we serve.

We look forward to our future as a community and look back with solemn gratitude for what we have been given.

On behalf of everyone at SCCG, thank you for service, and for being part of our story.

SCCG Client Partners

WELCOME TO YOUR ROUNDUP OF EUROPEAN IGAMING NEWS

Our European weekly iGaming feature article summarizes the thoughts of Jake Pollard, an experienced journalist and editor who has covered the online gaming and betting industry for many years. He has written for the leading media outlets as well as operators and suppliers in the igaming space. His areas of focus are wide-ranging and include regulatory developments in the US, emerging markets in South America and how European countries are adapting to a decade of igaming regulation.

Building betting blocks

The acquisition of the betting technology specialist SportCast by corporate giant Scientific Games is another pointer as to the likely further direction of betting products in the U.S. The transaction amount was not disclosed and is therefore unlikely to be substantial (all things being relative). It could however have a significant impact on how U.S. sportsbooks evolve in terms of pricing, engagement and interaction with their customers. SportCast is credited with developing the BetBuilder feature that is now integrated with many leading betting brands. What became known as BetBuilder actually started out in the UK with operators (mainly Sky Bet) pricing up markets on Twitter following requests from customers. Very quickly all industry suppliers boasted about having their own Bet Builder/Request-a-bet/Build Your Bet functionalities. The product should prove popular in the U.S., but it will be interesting to see how many brands operating on competing platforms are happy to integrate the product or if SG, which owns SG Digital Sports (ex-OpenBet), ends up mainly integrating it with existing clients.

Licensing uncertainty reflects poorly on Italy

Online casino operators performed will in April in Italy as the casino and slots segments hit €161.2m, their second-highest monthly total ever and a 1.6% rise on the previous month. Online sports betting however had a bad month, somewhat surprisingly since high street outlets continue to be closed, with revenues dropping 21.7% month-on-month to €103.5m. Just as important however is the continued uncertainty around the granting of betting and gaming licences to operators. The process has been derailed because of “regulatory and legal reasons” according to Gamenet/Lottomatica, the largest operator in the country. The result is that instead of being awarded on nine-year terms and licensees paying them over three-year periods, the licences are now granted annually, exposing companies to potential changes that could hit their cash reserves in a significant way. Gamenet CEO Guglielmo Angelozzi commented: “Betting concessions were due to be awarded in 2016 but in 2021 it’s still a case of paying annually.” Which seems an incredible way to run one of major European iGaming markets.

Making it official

As Genius Sports released its maiden Q1 results it was interesting to hear how it plans to monetize the official league data it acquires (at great cost) from sports federations such as the NFL. Basically, it will charge higher prices for its packages as it seeks to recoup its investments. Both Genius and main rival SportRadar have gone all in on official data, claiming it is faster and more reliable than unofficial data. But talk to operators and suppliers off the record and they will say that although there are some latency benefits with official in-play data, the difference is not that major on the other data points. What seems certain is that we can expect more ‘data grumbling’ behind the scenes as Genius and Radar continue to battle for (U.S.) supremacy.

SCCG Management: New and Upcoming Events

STEPHEN CRYSTAL IN LAS VEGAS THROUGH END OF MAY

Stephen Crystal will be in Las Vegas at the SCCG office through the end of May.

If you are interested in meeting with in Steve in Las Vegas during this time, please contact him directly at stephen.crystal@sccgmanagement.com.

SCCG Management is located at 105 E. Reno Avenue, Suite 8, Las Vegas, NV, 89119

Stephen Crystal of SCCG Management announces the extension of its business development partnership with Bettorlogic to bring sports betting digital marketing and CRM technology to North America.

Las Vegas, NV, United States – March 25, 2021 / sccgmanagement.com / -- Stephen Crystal, SCCG Founder, announced today that the company has extended its partnership with Bettorlogic, whose technology leverages the customer’s existing sportsbook player data to give sports bettors reasons to place a bet — in retail outlets, push notifications on mobile devices, emails or SMS.

Las Vegas, NV, United States – March 27, 2021 / sccgmanagement.com / -- Stephen Crystal of SCCG Management announces its partnership with On the Avenue Marketing, supporting its “best-in-class” on-site event services for lead generation, new user acquisition, and product sales to the US igaming industry.