Contributor PROFILES

Jez San

Jez San is a British technology entrepreneur and investor whose pioneering work in the field of real-time 3D computer graphics led to him being awarded the OBE for services to the computer games industry. He has since gone on to found companies including 3D online poker room PKR and most recently blockchain casino provider FunFair Technologies. This issue he writes on how following a necessary and enlightening education period, blockchain now has a clear path into the gaming mainstream (p18).

Christina Thakor-Rankin

Christina Thakor-Rankin is principal consultant at 1710 Gaming, working with start-up, evolving and established operators, regulators and industry groups. Christina’s 20-plus years of industry experience includes management roles at William Hill, Blue Square, Tote (Sport) and Virgin Games. On p30, she dissects the US sports leagues’ arguments for an integrity fee based on the correlation between sports betting and match-fixing.

Sarafina Wolde Gabriel

Sarafina Wolde Gabriel is VP of strategy at Paysafe Group’s Income Access. She focuses on growing Income Access and driving the evolution of the company’s suite of products and services and has over a decade of igaming industry experience. On p92, Sarafina explains how a sports-mad and mobile-dependent population makes the African market ideally suited to both affiliate marketing and mobile in-play betting.

Eva Karagianni-Goel

Eva Karagianni-Goel is chief commercial officer at Colossus Bets, where she is responsible for the company’s B2B partner network and commercial strategy. She spent her early career in maritime shipping in her native Greece. Before joining the gaming industry, she held leadership positions with global information services provider Dun & Bradstreet in the US and the UK. On p65, she writes on what attracted her to gaming and what company attributes are needed to build a more diverse and effective workforce.

EDITOR’S LETTER

We are delighted this issue to present our first-ever salary survey in partnership with the sector’s largest recruiter Pentasia. Perhaps the most striking trend emerging from the data analysis is the gap opening up between the top and midrange earners in the sector.

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Pentasia MD Alastair Cleland and his team of specialist recruiters provide some expert insight into the forces shaping sector salary trends such as these, including within specific regions and roles, from p55.

Elsewhere, Jez San of FunFair Techologies expands on why he sees blockchain now having a clear path into the gaming mainstream (p18). While in finance, RB Capital’s Ben Robinson argues against the increasingly prevailing view that blockbuster transactions in the sector have had their day.

Enjoy the issue.

Stephen Carter Editorial director