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Crystal Announces Exclusive Collaboration with Casino De Montecarlo
Crystal, renowned for its exceptional voyages and outstanding entertainment, has announced that it has secured a collaboration with Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer (SBM), a leader in the world of entertainment and gaming to host the first and only Casino de Monte-Carlo at sea. This marks an exciting new chapter for the brand promising guests an elevated level of entertainment and gaming experiences debuting onboard Crystal Symphony during the Chairmen’s Cruise departing from Venice on Nov. 14, and on Crystal Serenity this December. The casino will also be featured on the two future oceangoing vessels and in all the new vessels of Crystal, with the exclusion of Expedition vessels.
The alliance between Crystal and Monte-Carlo SBM brings forth a fusion of expertise and innovation, aiming to redefine onboard entertainment for cruisers worldwide. Guests can now anticipate an array of gaming activities including slot machines, blackjack, roulette and more, that will elevate their experience to unprecedented heights.
“We are delighted to welcome Casino de Monte-Carlo into the Crystal family as our newest collaborator. This affiliation symbolizes our commitment to offering our guests the finest entertainment and gaming experiences available at sea. Together, we aim to create unforgettable moments and continue to set new standards of excellence in the cruise industry,” said Executive Chairman of A&K Travel Group Manfredi Lefebvre.
Stephane Valeri, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Monte-Carlo SBM, said: “We are excited to join forces with Crystal to deliver the unique Casino de Monte-Carlo experience at sea. With our combined expertise, we are confident that we will provide a gaming moment unlike any other in the cruise industry.”
The 1000+ square-foot Casino de Monte-Carlo will be positioned where the current Bridge Lounges are located on both Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony. The Bridge Lounge will then move to the Library on Crystal Serenity and The Lounge (location of the previous casino) on Crystal Symphony.
“We have listened attentively to the feedback from our loyal guests regarding their desire to have casinos back onboard, and we are proud to announce that we will deliver on our promise. At Crystal, like at Monte-Carlo SBM, guest satisfaction and enjoyment are paramount, and this alliance with Casino de Monte-Carlo underscores our dedication to fulfilling their wishes and exceeding their expectations. We are confident the reintroduction of casinos will further enhance the overall cruise experience, providing our guests with the entertainment options they crave while sailing with us,” said Cristina Levis, CEO of A&K Travel Group.
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PSG want to be the club of the new generation — and gaming has to be a part of it!
Reading Time: 3 minutes
esport-news.co.uk recently sat down with PSG’s brand and business development Nadia Benmokhtar. She spoke about how PSG’s investment into eSports has already seen massive engagement in Asia, how they plan to be a part of the new generation through eSports and how they can diversify their audience.
If you are to use any of the content below, please link to https://esports-news.co.uk/ or the following article, where you can find the full interview: https://esports-news.co.uk/2025/10/20/psg-esports-interview-why-football-clubs-invest
Highlights from the inteview:
- “At PSG, we want to be the club of the new generation — and when you say new generation, gaming has to be part of it.”(Nadia on why esports is central to PSG’s brand identity.)
- “When we entered esports, we didn’t just want to do FIFA. We wanted to be present in major games with big audiences.”(On PSG’s bold approach to expanding beyond traditional football titles.)
- “We partner with people who understand the scene — Vitality and Talon are not just teams, they’re real brands.”(On building authentic, long-term collaborations in esports.)
- “Esports allows us to diversify our audience, expand globally, and connect with communities that might not start as football fans but can still become PSG fans.”(On the club’s goal of global fan engagement through gaming.)
- “We started with esports for credibility, but now we’re exploring the entire gaming universe — from mobile titles to digital experiences like Roblox.”(On PSG’s next phase of gaming innovation.)
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PSG are using gaming to be a part of the new generation
“The goal with eSports is to grow the audience across different touchpoints, increase the brand exposure, and also diversify that audience because we want to target people that are not especially football fans at the beginning. But with esports, you can create a different kind of connection. We know that it’s a very engaged market. It’s also a way to target different territories. If you look at PSG, as an example, the French League is not very visible in Asia. So you can say that through esports, you will find a different way to connect with this type of audience. So it’s really part of the club strategy. So first, we are a multi-club sport. We have football, of course, men’s football, but we also have women’s football, handball, judo, and esports is really considered as a sports section in the club. But for sure, we aim to be at PSG, the club of the new generation. That’s our brand positioning. And when you say new generation, of course, gaming should be part of it.”
Brand recognition in Asia was key
“Asia has been one of the key territories for us since launch. We had an important partnership on the game Dota 2 with a Chinese company, LGD. So we had a very successful team with LGD, but at the end, Dota became a game very costly and to us it didn’t make sense to just spend millions in player salaries with no return on investment. With LGD, it was a new partner with a team that is already very big, and you just enter and do a big, big push. With Talon, the story was a bit different because we really grew together.”
PSG have already seen a great return on their eSports investments
“It depends on what kind of return you want. The initial objective was not pure revenue; it was more exposure. So if you look at brand exposure, fan engagement, brand coolness, yes, for sure, the return is there. If you look at the finance, not yet, but I think it will come. And it’s also a way to link it with the future strategy. So we really feel that we are now only at the beginning of the story when it comes to PSG and gaming. We entered through esports and I think that was great because that gives us also credibility now to speak about all the other verticals.”
PSG want fans of the club, not just their football teams
“If you can convert an esports fan into a football fan, a PSG fan, it’s cool. But I think what we want is to have a PSG fan. And if you are a fan of the club because you are a fan of our League of Legends team, that’s enough for me. I’m happy to have you in my base. And our whole job is to offer them what they want as an esports fan. That’s why we have a lot of work internally at the moment about the database, where the fans are, who they are, and what they are expecting from us. If you are a young League of Legends fan based in Hong Kong and you love PSG thanks to esports, and you are just expecting us to be able to sell you an esports jersey in Hong Kong, which is not the case now, we will try to develop this to be able to make you happy.”
The post PSG want to be the club of the new generation — and gaming has to be a part of it! appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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TrueLayer to Acquire Zimpler, Creating a European Pay by Bank Powerhouse
Reading Time: 2 minutes
TrueLayer, Europe’s leading Pay by Bank network, today announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Zimpler, the fastest growing Pay by Bank network in the Nordics. The acquisition will bring together two of Europe’s most innovative Pay by Bank providers, further strengthening TrueLayer as a formidable force in the European payments industry.
This acquisition marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of Pay by Bank across Europe. By expanding TrueLayer’s pan-European network and deep expertise in payment technology with Zimpler’s strong position in the Nordic market, TrueLayer will be uniquely positioned to further accelerate the shift from legacy card payments to smarter, faster, and more secure payments via Pay by Bank.
The acquisition is another clear step forward for TrueLayer in its mission to build a powerful alternative to legacy payments in Europe, fostering greater competition, innovation and value for businesses and their consumers.
With some of the highest adoption rates of account-to-account (A2A) payments anywhere in the world, the Nordic region has been a proving ground for Pay by Bank. By acquiring Zimpler, TrueLayer will have more than 20 million users and will add coverage across key markets such as Sweden, Finland, and will add additional A2A capabilities through the Swish payment rail integration. This significantly strengthens TrueLayer’s pan-European network, accelerating the shift to smarter, safer, and more cost-effective payments.
Founded in 2012 by Johan Friis and Kristofer Ekman Sinclair, Zimpler has grown rapidly to become a Pay by Bank leader in the Nordics. TrueLayer is proud to welcome Zimpler’s founders and shareholders on this journey – joining the likes of Stripe, Northzone, and Tiger Global in backing its mission to transform the way the world pays.
“I am excited to welcome the Zimpler team to TrueLayer,” said Francesco Simoneschi, Co-founder and CEO of TrueLayer. “We’ve long admired their progress, and we’re excited to add such an incredible group of builders and payment experts to the TrueLayer team We’re not just expanding our footprint in the Nordics – we’re combining talent, technology, and scale to accelerate Pay by Bank adoption across the continent, and further strengthening Pay by Bank as a force of disruption that is changing how the world pays.”
“Joining forces with TrueLayer is a fantastic opportunity to build the leading Pay by Bank provider in Europe” said Johan Strand, CEO of Zimpler. “TrueLayer has a proven track record of innovation and a powerful network. Our combined strengths will allow us to offer an even more compelling proposition to the market. Joining TrueLayer will enable us to reach new heights and drive the next wave of growth in the industry. At the same time, we remain firmly anchored in Sweden, with our local licence and expertise ensuring continuity for our customers.”
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SPORTRADAR AWARDED UNITED ARAB EMIRATES LICENSE
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Sportradar Group AG (NASDAQ: SRAD) has been granted a gaming-related vendor license from the United Arab Emirates’s General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA), an independent entity of the UAE Federal Government with exclusive jurisdiction to regulate, license, and supervise all commercial gaming activities.
The license, operational with immediate effect, affords Sportradar the opportunity to provide its products and services to licensed operators.
Sportradar looks forward to bringing its 20+ year expertise and proprietary sports technology to operators and clients in the region.
The post SPORTRADAR AWARDED UNITED ARAB EMIRATES LICENSE appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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