The Continent 8 team will be in Buenos Aires, Argentina for SAGSE 2019, November 20-22. SAGSE is a Latin American gaming event, promoting the exchange of ideas on topics such as regulation, intellectual property, payment solutions, artificial intelligence, and affiliate marketing.

Members of the Continent 8 team look forward to engaging in discussions with other industry leaders about the future of gaming in Latin America. With new locations opening up by 2020, the Continent 8 network will expand across South America and provide end users with the best-in-class connectivity experience. Connect with us at SAGSE to learn how Continent 8 can support your Latin American gaming operations. CEO Michael Tobin will be attending, along with Chief Development Officer Nick Nally and Account Director Mario Dealba.

Mario Dealba states:

“With hundreds of gaming sites, suppliers and payment processors in our global private network, Continent 8 Technologies is the leading gaming data center network in the world. Schedule a meeting to learn about online gaming infrastructure, cyber security challenges in the industry as well as how we can best serve your specific needs.”

Plan to attend

SAGSE
November 20-22, 2019
Costa Salguero Convention Center – Buenos Aires, Argentina

Connect with us:

Email: sales@continent8.com
Tel. +1 514 461 5120

On 26 November, the Continent 8 team is headed to Malta for the KPMG Malta Gaming eSummit. Our team is looking forward to connecting with key players in Malta’s gaming industry as we explore the opportunities and challenges presented by the region. This jam-packed one-day event gathers industry leaders to discuss the latest trends in iGaming and receive sector-specific updates.

Kick off Malta Gaming Week with the KPMG Malta Gaming eSummit,  conveniently scheduled just before SiGMA 2019.

Talk to us at the KPMG Gaming Summit to see how we can support your gaming infrastructure. Continent 8 has two diverse co-location facilities in Malta that connect directly to our core global MPLS backbone to provide the best connectivity and support. As the “gateway to Europe,” Malta is at the forefront of the online gaming industry and home to some of the world’s largest online gaming businesses.

Plan to Attend

KPMG Malta Gaming eSummit
26 November 2019
Hilton Hotel – Malta

Connect with us

Email: sales@continent8.com
📞 +44 1624 678888

On October 21, Justin Cosnett, Head of Solution Architecture for Continent 8 Technologies, was interviewed by iNTERGAMINGi editor Matt Chambers about the security, connectivity, and compliance issues affecting gaming operators across emerging markets.

INTERGAMINGi: Could you describe Continent 8’s offering?

JC: We connect, manage and secure igaming critical infrastructure for operators and software providers to meet regulatory, availability and  ‘global’ reach requirements. Example solutions would be: global internet access, cloud, hosting, DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) mitigation. Continent 8 is particularly well-known in the igaming market, but our core services have changed and adapted and matured along with our customers and their operating environments over our 20-plus year lifetime. In addition, we have expanded into other markets such as government, fintech and most recently esports.

How have your solutions evolved over the past 12 months?

I’d have to state first that evolution is significantly different in different jurisdictions or regions for igaming.  In Europe for example, regulatory changes have meant we have implemented approved cloud-enabled solutions to the market. More stringent requirements have been loosened, where appropriate or suitable, and some have been able to take advantage of this for technical efficiency. Others prefer to remain consolidated in a single on-premise hub location. This leads to interaction with our customers around solution design based not only on today’s activities, but on where this evolution might go tomorrow.

In others, for example in the United States, we have grown our hosting footprint and state by state connectivity, as well as created our Atlantic City hub, to meet the differing regulatory environment of our customers. It’s been a significant and rapid acceleration in our locations and network, led by an emerging regulatory landscape, a challenge which continues as each further state launches.

Latin America is an area where we are looking to expand further. This is again due to significant activity in the region from a regulatory perspective. Continent 8 will always be a partner which tries to meet these expansionary challenges for our existing or potentially new igaming customers.

What are the major challenges right now within data security for operators?

In general, growth of newly regulated markets across the world brings complexity and sometimes specific data storage, transfer and protection requirements. Maturity of existing markets tends to lead to a strengthening of requirements. The main challenge for any operator is ‘keeping up’ from a compliance perspective, whilst also allowing teams to utilise data which can be a valuable analytical or actionable toolset.

Operators at the leading edge of data mining and analytics techniques; trying to create a superior or more efficient customer experience, are having to store, export and manipulate significant datasets between hosted, cloud and hybrid infrastructures in different countries or even continents. Simultaneously ensuring the right data is kept in the right place with the right level of encryption or anonymisation, destroying data not needed, and maintaining data which is needed for the right period of time.

Similarly, what are the issues affecting operators (in terms of reliability, connectivity, security and compliance) in relation to expanded activity within emerging markets?

Reliability and connectivity in the European regulatory jurisdictions have improved significantly from where it was a few years ago. This is in part as a result of significant investment by certain suppliers to meet the market demand, so I understand the focus on emerging markets, where this may not as yet have taken place. However, it’s worth noting that this stability can lead to development and innovation in an operator’s product which then isn’t capable in less reliable and connected markets.

Also, many operators are expanding into emerging markets from a European base or as part of a partnership between a local provider and a European one, thus having  an influence even in emerging market expanded activity.

In developing or emerging markets such as Latin America and Africa, challenges faced in the past, such as latency between customer and technology, or connection reliability, is going to test operators which are more sensitive in their application design and delivery. Those operators which have faced and dealt with such challenges before, need to ensure they still meet them, whereas new entrants may need to swiftly adapt or innovate.

In the United States, the legislative interpretations of the Wire Act; has meant that some operators are targeting application access ‘in-state’ to similar ‘in-state’ infrastructure – a different challenge to the European model, where ‘out of jurisdiction’ access to different countries at the greatest speed and reliability was sought, so an almost opposite model. Therefore, whilst connectivity and service reliability are well developed, it’s a different operating environment to consider when designing infrastructure deployments.

Good compliance and security of data tend to go hand in hand, and whilst you may have a difference in regional compliance requirements, the best operators will have a holistic best practice approach within the legislative parameters. Changes in data protection regulations, particularly in Europe, clearly incentivise a business to ensure no data loss or breach. Whilst ultimately operators will ensure the security of their data from an encryption and access perspective, Continent 8 can assist in areas such as DDoS mitigation – as DDoS attacks can often be undertaken as cover for a data exfiltration attempts whilst network and security teams are distracted.

How do you see security threats evolving in future years and what strategies can be put in place by companies like yours in order to combat new threats?

At Continent 8, our security experience has been predominantly in DDoS mitigation – understandable given our customers exist in a highly targeted environment. We are therefore seeking to expand that offering to provide greater application level protection for our customers with web application firewalling (WAF) and Layer 7 network protection methods. We have seen a growth in this requirement in Asia in particular, where we may be able to bring a market focused capability.

In terms of advice and strategies, we have always recommended a reduced surface area approach to our customers. That is, using private connectivity which isn’t via public IP address space, and therefore unable to be attacked (as it isn’t exposed to the internet). We have seen and expect a growth in such deployments to offer a reduced attack surface, as well as enabling customers to monitor, manage and maintain service availability. We have ambitions to create an igaming cloud of privately connected 828 providers globally and expect to be releasing and launching products and services in the  next year to enable this, potentially bringing content providers, payment providers, operators, and potentially data providers within a private network.

We have seen an increase in size, complexity and vector of DDoS attacks more generally, which will require a more customer-led or ‘tuned’ protection regime. We will have to keep up to the challenges with additional resource expertise, availability and engagement; along with the entire security industry.

No defence is or will be perfect and a focus needs to be on how companies react and deal with an issue. There is less viability in ‘off the shelf’ protections being suitable, and operators will need to ensure they have their own preparedness or ability to react and work with security vendors to maintain protection or service availability.”


Read the article as it originally appeared on page 39 of iNTERGAMINGi 2019 Issue 4.

Justin Cosnett, Head of Solution Architecture at Continent 8 Technologies, speaks with Owain Flanders of Gaming America Magazine about the rapidly-growing United States market in the G2E 2019 Preview Issue, published September 29, 2019.

Can you explain a bit about what a Continent 8 data center network can do for potential clients?

We have 20 years of experience with clients helping them set up in locations they have limited experience with or existing contacts in. We’ve generally done a lot of exploring in locations to find suitable data centers for other clients. We always make sure we deliver a resilient, private network connection to every single location, so that allows us to run a resilient global network around the globe on top of lots of individual private connections.

Continent 8 recently partnered with New Jersey’s Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA). Can you explain a bit about this partnership and what it means?

New Jersey has historically been focused on a licensing and registering regime based on casino facilities. Casinos may have quite a good standard of data hosting halls, but they’re not independent custom-built data centers. Initial regulation meant those who wanted to provide online gaming had to partner with a casino and have their server infrastructure within that casino premise. The main result of the partnership was independence. It is a data center without a brand, so you could host with us, and service all casinos.

The convention center facilities, combined with the network and data center, can potentially support events benefitting from such an environment, like esports events.

How did the overturning of PASPA affect Continent 8’s plans within the US?

It led to a rapid escalation in activity. We already had partnerships with a couple of casinos in in Atlantic City, because New Jersey was at the forefront of preparing for legalization. A lot of other states started to regulate very rapidly and many of our existing customer base and new customers came to us needing support for their operating infrastructure.

A build takes a significant amount of time. Even taking residence in existing facilities tends to take two to three months, or maybe even more, especially bringing in private connectivity to a location. We sometimes had to do these things in less than four weeks, because every one of our customers is looking to go to market first after the regulation is approved. That’s where the pressure is.

Did you come across any challenges expanding into new states so rapidly?

It was more trying to determine how many customers would be going to a state and when. We look at where the market is going ad think if there is going to be significant operator activity in a state, it’s probably an area we should prioritize and start setting up. If there is a big potential customer base for an operator, then they’re more likely to go swiftly, and if the license is going to be available in two months, we have to be ready to go. We have had to learn a lot about the legislative process.

That being said, do you feel you are making progress in the US and Asia? What more needs to be done to establish yourselves in these markets in the same way you have in Europe?

I think we have had a considerable change in our marketing activity, especially in the US. We have a new-found ability to let people know who we are. In the US, we are definitely establishing ourselves as one of the people to go to, the same as we have with Europe.

Asia is a different challenge. We’ve tried to support a reseller channel instead of doing direct sales in Asia because there is such a big cultural and language difference. We’ve probably been more successful at getting our name out there in the US, but Asia is doing well.

What is the focus for the rest of 2019? What is Continent 8 working on?

There is a big focus on our existing customer base and making sure we are ready for wherever they’re going next. A lot of our customers are multi-regional as well, so they will be facing different challenges in the US, Latin America, Asia and Europe at the same time. We need to be there to help them through that.

Continent 8 Technologies is proud to be the Official Networking Reception Sponsor at Sports Betting USA in New York City. Happening November 5-6, Sports Betting USA connects sport betting operators, suppliers, and service providers to New York’s media and finance professionals. The Continent 8 team looks forward to connecting with key industry players to discuss the expansion of the American sports betting market and how to maximize media channels for player acquisition and activation.

Official Networking Reception

Now with 50 locations across Europe, Asia, Latin America, and the United States, Continent 8 Technologies is equipped to support all your gaming needs. With the opening of our new Continent 8 Data Center at the Atlantic City Convention Center this past June and our ever-expanding multi-state capacity, Continent 8 is the largest Cloud infrastructure provider for online gaming, sports betting, and eSports in the United States and beyond. 

Continent 8 US map - updated October 2019The data center at the Atlantic City Convention Center provides iGaming businesses with vital reliability, connectivity, security, and compliance as they expand across jurisdictions in the U.S. For more information on the Atlantic City Data Center and our multi-state expansion, visit atlanticcity-datacenter.com.

If you plan on attending Sports Betting USA and want to learn more about our recent expansion and the exciting opportunities in the American sports betting market, set up a meeting with team today.

Conference Details

Sports Betting USA
November 5-6, 2019
Metropolitan West
New York, 10001

Contact us

Email: sales@continent8.com
Phone: +1 514 461 5111

Continent 8 is proud to be sponsoring SiGMA’19 on 27-29 November in Ta’Qali, Malta at the Malta Fairs & Exhibition Centre. With over 12,500 delegates in attendance, 400 sponsors, and 200 speakers, SiGMA’19 promises to be one of the year’s biggest iGaming events. Continent 8 looks forward to connecting with other industry leaders on the cutting edge of the iGaming industry. 

As the “gateway to Europe,” Malta is at the forefront of the online gaming industry and home to some of the world’s largest online gaming businesses. Continent 8 is the only global data centre provider to offer fully redundant dual data centres within Malta.

Opened in 2007, our first facility is two miles from the Malta International Airport and five miles from the main commercial district. In 2016, an additional facility was opened, located just four miles from the airport. 

Both sites offer high-quality co-location capabilities, as well as Continent 8’s standard product service suite, enabling customers to provision in-jurisdiction disaster recovery or “active-active” operations.

Headed to Malta for SiGMA’19? Don’t hesitate to set up a meeting with the team to discuss the latest developments in the iGaming industry!

Plan to attend
SiGMA’19
27-29 November
Malta Fairs & Exhibition Centre

Ta’Qali, Malta

Contact us
Email: sales@continent8.com
Phone: +44 1624 694625

Fort Lauderdale, FL – October 14, 2019 – Continent 8 Technologies, the award-winning, multi-jurisdictional global network and cloud infrastructure solutions provider, today announced that Brian Borysewich has joined Continent 8 as Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). Brian will bring four decades of experience in the industry to Continent 8’s Cyber security, network operations, and compliance teams.

Brian is a seasoned cyber security professional and has served in many roles from systems security administrator to the C-level suite. He has empowered Fortune 50 companies to secure their environments, has held leadership roles at both eBay and PayPal at their respective headquarters in Silicon Valley USA, as the principal cybersecurity architect.

Brian’s experience includes over 15 years within the United States government intelligence agencies. He is a former Black Hat and Anonymous hacker who has since used his experience to provide companies, governments, and educational institutions with methods and techniques to protect valuable assets and data. He has been a keynote speaker and mentor at various security conferences and panels.

“As a global leader that protects some of the world’s most valuable information, we take data security seriously,” said Michael Tobin, CEO of Continent 8. “Brian has been globally recognized as a cyber security practice leader. His accomplishments and leadership have helped companies and governments around the world protect both brand and financial resources. I look forward to working with him in these challenging, but exciting times, as businesses and nations enter ever increasing Cyber security attacks in size and velocity.”

Additionally, Brian has extensive expertise in iGaming, which will assist Continent 8 in serving its wide range of clients in that industry. A pioneer in early online gaming, he provided gaming site technology as early as 1995, when the first customers bet before the flurry of regulation. He served for four years as IGT’s Global Operations Solutions Delivery Architect and Manager.

Brian’s arrival supports the company-wide dedication to security that strives to keep client data safe, secure, and private across the global network and public cloud infrastructure on a regional, national, and global level. 

Continent 8 is an award-winning, multi-jurisdictional global Cloud infrastructure solutions provider that connects, manages, and secures the world’s most valuable information. Its advanced data centers and high-quality networks support critical online operations in both private and public-sector organizations in over 50 locations across Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

— Download the press release here —

Join the Continent 8 team at Asia Gaming Summit on 5-7 November in Taipei, Taiwan. This event provides the perfect environment to facilitate discussions on the latest regulatory updates, technological innovations and industry best practices.

If you’re interested in support for your online operations in Asia, Continent 8’s low latency network throughout Asia offers a consistent and reliable platform for serving your clients. In addition to co-location facilities, our network points of presence in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore connect to the rest of the world over a high-capacity, fully-redundant private network. Continent 8 also offers highly reliable DDoS monitoring and mitigation services throughout Asia and around the world.

Will you be attending? Connect with the Continent 8 team at Asia Gaming Summit!

Plan to attend

Asia Gaming Summit
5-7 November 2019
W Hotel- Taipei, Taiwan

Contact us

Email: sales@continent8.com
+44 1624 694625

Continent 8 is thrilled to be returning to London for the EGR Operator Awards 2019 at Grosvenor House on 24 October. The EGR Operator Awards “reward B2C online gaming operators for setting the standard in categories ranging from customer service to social responsibility across all verticals.” We look forward to connecting with the giants of iGaming operations on this auspicious occasion. 

Continent 8 is an award-winning, multi-jurisdictional global Cloud infrastructure solutions provider for online gaming, sports betting, and eSports. Our advanced data centres and high-quality networks support critical online operations in both private and public-sector organisations across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Each connected location provides gaming operators with vital reliability, connectivity, security, and compliance as they expand across regulated markets.

Headed to London for the EGR Operator Awards? Don’t hesitate to set up a meeting with the team to discuss the latest developments in sports betting and the iGaming industry!

Plan to attend

EGR Operator Awards
Grosvenor House, London
24 October 2019

Contact us

Email:
sales@continent8.com
Phone: +44 1624 694625

 

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GET IN TOUCH

Asia +65 3165 4649
Europe +44 1624 694625
Latin America +54 11 5168 5637
North America +1 514 461 5120