The Portland Trail Blazers are the first NBA team to land a jersey patch deal with a cryptocurrency platform.

StormX, which has 800 global partners and more than 2 million users, will feature its branding throughout the arena and on the team’s jerseys. StormX will also create the first NFT for the Trail Blazers.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but sponsorship experts reportedly suggest the first-of-its-kind deal likely falls somewhere under $10 million per year.

The Golden State Warriors have the largest NBA jersey patch deal at $20 million per season. Only three of the 30 teams in the league do not have patch deals. 

Cryptocurrency is flooding the sports industry these days.

• Earlier this week, Formula 1 announced a five-year, $100 million partnership with Crypto.com.
• The New York Giants teamed up with Grayscale in May, one of the world’s largest digital currency asset managers.
• The Miami Heat agreed to a 19-year, $135 million naming rights deal with FTX in April.
• The Montreal Canadiens signed a one-year deal with Crypto.com back in March.

IEG estimates that the NBA made a record $1.46 billion in sponsorships this season.

Activision Blizzard is betting $100 million on free-to-play gamemaker Playstudios.

The investment occurred prior to Playstudios going public in June, but only came to light on Thursday. 

At the nexus of mobile and casino gaming, Playstudios has long benefitted from affiliations with a big player in each sector: Activision Blizzard and MGM Resorts. Both companies invested in Playstudios’ Series A round in 2011, shortly after the company was founded.

Playstudios went public in June by merging with a SPAC, Acies Acquisition Corp., led by former MGM CEO Jim Murren.

Following the SPAC merger, Playstudios is flush with funds.

• MGM Resorts, BlackRock, ClearBridge Investments, and Neuberger Berman Funds are investing an additional $250 million in the public company. 
• Playstudios said it secured an additional $75 million, five-year credit facility to fuel its growth.
• The company said it has around $220 million in cash, which it will use to expand its product portfolio and acquire more gaming companies.

The investment is part of an increasing focus on mobile games for Activision Blizzard. Known for PC and console games, such as “Call of Duty” and “World of Warcraft,” the company said in November that it plans to eventually have mobile versions of all its games.

Mobile games accounted for $734 million of the company’s revenue in Q1, compared to $799 million for console games, and $622 million for PC titles.

Scientific Games, a provider of gambling products and services, is making big changes under new management, according to Bloomberg.

The slot machine maker is looking to divest its lottery and sports betting businesses through a sale, initial public offering, or merger with a blank-check company. 

The sports betting unit of the Las Vegas-based company is worth just under $1.3 billion while its lottery business could be worth as much as $5 billion.

Scientific plans to shift its focus to physical and online gambling games. 

Since purchasing gaming device manufacturer Bally Technologies in 2014 for $5.1 billion, Scientific has continued to prioritize acquisitions.

• Signed cross-licensing agreement in March with International Game Technology 
• Used its technology to deliver over 50 million bets in April during the three-day Grand National Racing Festival in England, a 60.5% increase compared to 2019. 
• Acquired SportCast in June, a London-based leader in sports betting player engagement.

Despite the growth, Scientific is more than $9 billion in debt — divesting its lottery and sports betting businesses could alleviate some of the pressure. 

The company generated $729 million in revenue for Q1 2021, compared to $725 million for the same period a year prior. Net losses reached $9 million for the quarter, compared to $155 million in Q1 2020.