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Winners from Industry best Mobile Games Awards Announced; Tencent win big

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MiHoYo’s Genshin Impact took home the biggest prize as it scooped Game of the Year at Steel Media’s fourth annual and industry-leading Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards, supported by Game Insight, held last week.

The ceremony saw the action role-playing title also awarded Best Audio/Visual Accomplishment, while Tencent and TiMi Studio Group secured Best Publisher and Best Developer, respectively.

Innovation of the Year went to Niantic for its ingenious reworking of augmented reality hit Pokémon Go for the 2020 lockdown, Pollen VC was voted Best Service Provider, and Supercell’s Clash Royale conquered the opposition to the Best Live Ops trophy.

As ever the event, which in this pandemic-affected year took place later than its traditional January slot and adopted a hybrid live/digital format hosted by London’s Ham Yard Hotel, aimed to shine a spotlight on the work of the top mobile games companies over the previous year.

Further highlights from the night included the Rising Star award, shared – an event first – by Jana and Sham Al Bdour of Sakura Games, Unity continuing its Best Game Engine dominance with a fourth win in as many years, and Jam City CEO Chris DeWolfe joining the ranks of Mobile Legend.

The coveted People’s Choice Award, nominated for and voted on by readers of Steel Media’s leading consumer site, PocketGamer.com, went to Tilting Point’s SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off.

“We believe the MGAs have a vital role to play in recognising the efforts and achievements of the entire ecosystem that makes mobile gaming the best industry in the world,” said Steel Media CEO, Chris James.

“This is doubly important considering the forced disconnects of the last 16 months and also the incredible role that the mobile games industry has paid not just in contributing to the economy and keeping people in jobs, but moreover in keeping billions of citizens feeling a little more connected and engaged.”

As the full winner breakdown below demonstrates, the 22 categories (including three new additions this year) represent firms spanning the whole industry, from the games developers and publishers to the tools companies, service providers, support agencies, investors and recruiters that all contribute towards this $90 billion sector being the largest and most pervasive in gaming.

After the lobbying and shortlisting phases – the biggest and most complex to date – which took place from March to May, the finalists were subsequently voted on throughout June by our panel of 100-plus mobile games experts from every corner of the industry.

Steel Media is hugely grateful to everyone who took the time to submit themselves, their colleagues, company, or contemporaries, as well as everyone who attended the ceremony itself during these tricky times – whether in person or digitally.

Additionally, we would like to thank main sponsor Game Insight, together with Admix, Huawei Ads, Jam City, Scopely and Tilting Point for coming on board as category sponsors – their support helped make the event a success in a particularly challenging year.

And last but by no means least, congratulations to all the finalists – it really was a hard-fought affair this year – and, of course, the heartiest of praise to the winners themselves.

More info on all things PG Mobile Games Awards at the official website: www.mobilegamesawards.com

//Full Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2021 Winners List

Pocket Gamer People’s Choice – SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off (Tilting Point)

Best Advertising & UA Service – Unity Ads

Best Analytics / Data Tool – AppsFlyer

Best Developer – TiMi Studio Group

Best GAAS Tools & Tech – Azure PlayFab

Best Audio/Visual Accomplishment – Genshin Impact (miHoYo)

Best Game Engine – Unity

Best Storytelling – Alba: A Wildlife Adventure (ustwo games)

Rising Stars – Jana and Sham Al Bdour (Sakura Games)

Best Tools Provider – Game UI Database

Best Games Industry Law Firm – Sheridans

Best Service Provider – Pollen VC

Best Live Ops – Clash Royale (Supercell)

Best QA and Localisation Service Provider – Amber Studio

Best Indie Developer – Innersloth

Best PR / Marketing Team – Scopely

Best Influencer Marketing Agency – Game Influencer

Investor of the Year – Play Ventures

Best Publisher – Tencent

Best Innovation – Niantic (Pokémon GO lockdown reworking)

Game of the Year – Genshin Impact (miHoYo)

Mobile Legend – Chris DeWolfe (Jam City)

//notes for editors//

ABOUT THE POCKET GAMER MOBILE GAMES AWARDS

The Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards are the UK’s leading mobile games awards, established to celebrate the very best businesses and individuals who are driving the $90 billion mobile games industry forward. They shine a light on every part of the ecosystem, from the game developers and publishers through the advertising and monetisation companies, to the tool-makers and support companies that enable the magic to happen. They also pay homage to true industry legends who have made their mark on this industry.

The PG Mobile Games Awards have been created by the Steel Media Ltd, a consumer and b2b technology publisher and events company based in the UK which has over 16 years’ experience covering and connecting the mobile games industry with leading media such as PocketGamer.com and PocketGamer.biz. Steel Media Ltd also organises numerous international events, including the world-renowned Pocket Gamer Connects conference series and the developer-focused Big Indie Pitch competitions.

https://www.mobilegamesawards.com

https://twitter.com/MobileGameAward

 

For enquiries, please contact [email protected].

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Alex Wolf Founder & CEO ScratchOdds

SCCG Management Partners with ScratchOdds to Bring a Modern Player-Engagement Platform to the Global Lottery Industry

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SCCG Management has entered into a strategic market representation partnership with ScratchOdds, the mobile-first lottery platform that personalizes how players engage with the lottery across more than 41 US states. ScratchOdds turns official, real-time odds data into a transparent, goal-based experience, helping players choose the games that fit their budget and what they actually want from play, and driving the kind of engagement and retention that lottery operators are working to modernize. The partnership positions SCCG as the distribution and advisory channel for ScratchOdds’ expansion into B2B lottery partnerships, white-label licensing, affiliate revenue, and capital formation, connecting the platform to lottery commissions, iLottery operators, affiliate networks, and technology providers across the broader gaming ecosystem.

What ScratchOdds Does

ScratchOdds is a consumer mobile app and web platform that makes lottery play personalized and transparent. Lottery games are not all alike, and different games suit different players and different goals. The real odds shift every day as prizes are claimed, but until now no consumer-facing platform turned that complexity into a clear, personalized experience.

Players start by choosing a goal, whether that is winning a jackpot, winning a big prize, breaking even, or getting the best overall value, along with a budget. ScratchOdds then matches them to the lottery games that best fit that intent, using official prize-inventory data it aggregates daily from more than 41 US states, normalizes, and recalculates into real-time odds for every active game. The result is informed, transparent play: instead of buying blind, players see the actual odds behind each game and choose one that fits what they are actually after.

That personalization is what drives engagement. ScratchOdds converts 14.9% of iOS installs into paying subscribers, three to five times the industry benchmark, wins back roughly one in ten cancelled subscribers, and holds a 4.7-star rating. The platform serves a registered user base of more than 110,000 players and is built mobile-first for the modern lottery player.

The platform was founded by Alex Wolf, a technical founder whose previous company was acquired, and counts Bishop Woosley, former president of the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries (NASPL), among its advisors. The combination of proven technical execution and deep lottery industry credibility positions ScratchOdds for expansion into B2B licensing, white-label partnerships with lottery commissions, and affiliate revenue, and to extend its platform across draw games, iLottery, and other lottery formats.

Why This Matters for the Gaming Industry

Lottery is the largest gaming vertical in the United States, generating over $100 billion in annual ticket sales. Instant games represent the dominant share of that revenue today. Yet the lottery sector has attracted far less technology innovation than sports betting or iGaming, particularly at the consumer engagement layer.

That gap creates significant opportunity. State lottery commissions are actively exploring digital engagement tools, mobile-first experiences, and data-driven personalization to reach younger demographics and modernize the player experience. iLottery expansion continues to gain momentum, with more states authorizing online lottery sales each year. Affiliate networks and media companies are beginning to recognize lottery as an underserved content vertical with strong consumer demand.

ScratchOdds is positioned at the center of this shift. Its engagement platform and data infrastructure, already covering more than 41 states and recalculating odds daily across thousands of active games, can be white-labeled for lottery commissions and operators seeking to offer modern, transparent, personalized experiences to their players. The goal-based personalization that drives high session frequency and repeat visits on the consumer side maps directly onto the engagement and retention challenges operators face as they move into digital channels. And because the platform is built around lottery game data broadly rather than a single product, it is designed to extend across draw games, iLottery, and other lottery formats.

What SCCG Brings to the Partnership

SCCG Management will represent ScratchOdds across the gambling and sports entertainment ecosystem, leveraging its network of operator relationships, lottery industry contacts, technology providers, and investor relationships built over more than 33 years in the industry.

The engagement covers SCCG’s standard four-workstream advisory structure: capital introductions, international expansion, commercial partnership development across affiliates and white-label channels, and strategic advisory including M&A introductions. ScratchOdds will also receive access to SCCG’s marketing and content infrastructure, including newsletter distribution to approximately 34,000 gaming industry professionals, thought leadership placement, event visibility, and amplification through SCCG’s digital channels.

Stephen Crystal, Founder and CEO of SCCG Management, will serve as the primary relationship conduit, introducing ScratchOdds to qualified operators, lottery-adjacent platforms, investors, and potential acquirers across SCCG’s global network.

“Lottery is the largest gaming vertical in America and one of the least disrupted by technology. ScratchOdds has built something genuinely new: a real-time analytics layer for scratch-off games that consumers actually use. The white-label and affiliate opportunities are significant, and our network is built to connect those dots.” Stephen Crystal, Founder and CEO, SCCG Management.

“Lottery is one of the largest and least-modernized categories in gaming, and the opportunity isn’t simply better data, it’s a better, more transparent experience for players. ScratchOdds personalizes how people engage with the lottery, matching them to games that fit their goals and budget through real-time official odds, and that personalization is what drives our engagement and retention. SCCG’s network gives us the reach to bring that platform to lottery commissions and iLottery operators worldwide as we expand across scratch-offs, draw games, and iLottery.” Alex Wolf, Founder & CEO, ScratchOdds.

Target Verticals

The partnership will focus on connecting ScratchOdds to several categories of gaming and lottery businesses where a modern player-engagement platform addresses a direct operational or commercial need: state lottery commissions exploring digital engagement and branded player experiences, iLottery platform providers seeking consumer-facing engagement and data modules, lottery affiliate networks and media companies building data-driven lottery content, convenience store and retail chains evaluating consumer engagement tools for lottery sales, and international lottery operators considering US-style personalized lottery experiences for their own markets.

The post SCCG Management Partners with ScratchOdds to Bring a Modern Player-Engagement Platform to the Global Lottery Industry appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.

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Plaza Hotel & Casino books The Tony Bennett Experience for Aug. 8 in Las Vegas

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Plaza Hotel & Casino will host The Tony Bennett Experience for a one-night performance on Saturday, Aug. 8 at 7 p.m. in its classic Vegas showroom, the downtown Las Vegas operator said in a release.

The show features Las Vegas headliner and tribute artist Tom Stevens and his Jazz Ensemble, and is billed as a celebration of Tony Bennett’s 100th Anniversary. Plaza said Stevens will be backed by a four-piece band and perform songs including “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” and “The Way You Look Tonight.”

Tickets are on sale through the Plaza Hotel & Casino website.

The post Plaza Hotel & Casino books The Tony Bennett Experience for Aug. 8 in Las Vegas appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.

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G2 drops limited-edition One Piece streetwear capsule on June 25

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The esports organisation’s second anime apparel collaboration will be sold exclusively via g2esports.com/shop.

G2 is launching a limited-edition G2 | One Piece capsule collection on June 25, with the drop available exclusively through the organisation’s online store at g2esports.com/shop.

The collection is inspired by One Piece’s Gear 5 Monkey D. Luffy and includes hoodies, zip-ups, t-shirts, caps, sleeves, and tote bags. According to G2, the items use a black-and-white palette and feature a minimalist embroidered logo alongside a custom G2 | One Piece Jolly Roger that combines the G2 samurai emblem with Luffy’s straw hat.

“At G2, we’re continuing to push the culture and fashion of esports beyond competition alone, and this One Piece collection is a natural extension of that,” says Sabrina Ratih, COO of G2 Esports. “We wanted to create a capsule that continues to elevate the esports fashion space – understated, premium, and stylish enough for everyday wear, while still carrying the spirit of adventure, ambition, and individuality that defines One Piece and G2 alike. Every piece is designed to bridge the gap between fandom and everyday style, and continuing our mission to redefine what esports fashion can be.”

G2 described the drop as its second anime collaboration, following a previous apparel collaboration with Solo Leveling. The company positioned the release as part of its broader effort to connect esports, anime, and streetwear.

One Piece debuted in 1999 and remains one of the largest anime franchises globally. G2 cited over 600 million manga copies sold and more than 1,160 episodes for the series.

The post G2 drops limited-edition One Piece streetwear capsule on June 25 appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

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