Sweet Sugar

What is Sweet Sugar?

The CEO highlighted the synergies between Sun International’s land-based and online operations, with the potential of capturing more of its existing customers’ online activity.

“We look increasingly at our business as one customer ecosystem or one customer platform, if you will,” he added. “I keep saying that SunBet probably wouldn’t be where it is today without a land-based business, and a land-based business probably wouldn’t be where it is today without SunBet.

“We continuously leverage off one another. Now, having said that, we know that almost all of us, or at least the vast majority of our land-based customers are playing online, but not all of them are playing with SunBet, so we see that bit as the opportunity.”

About Sweet Sugar

Younger patrons are increasingly familiar with crypto, but the lack of regulatory adoption in the regulated space can push bettors to offshore or unlicensed platforms, most of which do accept it. At the ICE Barcelona conference in 2025, a panel of international sports betting CEOs lamented the fact that they were barred from adopting crypto, while their black-market competitors were not.

A report released in June by payment provider Paysafe said the percentage of online sports bettors who dabble in crypto is 64%, more than double the US average of 30%. Crypto deposits are only legal in two states, Wyoming and Colorado, but crypto withdrawals are not legal anywhere – 85% of respondents said they would welcome withdrawals as an option, Paysafe said.

“When permitted, crypto would become a top-three payment option for funding deposits (after digital wallets and debit cards), and a top-two payment preference in New York and Illinois,” the report said.

What is Sweet Sugar?

During his tenure, Rodano was instrumental in deploying an AI-powered behavioural analytics platform, BetBuddy, which is designed to identify and intervene in potentially harmful gambling behaviours. 

Before moving to the private sector, Rodano served as the director of remote gaming at Italy’s regulator, Agenzia Dogane e Monopoli, for almost a decade.

He played a significant part in establishing Italy’s national online gaming framework and liaised with international regulatory bodies.