Join the Continent 8 Technologies team in San Diego for the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS) Winter Meeting, happening January 10-12, 2020. We are proud to be a bronze sponsor of this dynamic event, connecting legislative officials and important players in the gaming industry.
Covering timely topics including sports stakeholders’ roles in sports betting, responsible gaming, lotteries, and more, the NCLGS Winter Meeting promises to effectively engage gaming’s decision makers at this biannual event.
Planning on attending NCLGS? Talk to Continent 8 about sports betting and online gaming! With the recent opening of our purpose-built Continent 8 data center at the Atlantic City Convention Center, and our ever-expanding multi-state capacity, 10 states to-date, Continent 8 is the largest Cloud infrastructure provider for online gaming, sports betting, and eSports in the United States and beyond. Learn more about the Continent 8 Atlantic City data center and US expansion.
NCLGS Winter Meeting
January 10-12, 2020
Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina – San Diego, CA
Email: sales@continent8.com
Phone: +1 514 461 5120
In an interview published by Yogonet Gaming News on December 10, Continent 8 Technologies Account Director, Mario Dealba, discusses SAGSE Buenos Aires and Continent 8’s expanding presence in South America.
YOGONET GAMING NEWS –In an exclusive interview with Yogonet, Mario Dealba, Account Director of Continent 8 said that one of the main goals of the company’s presence at SAGSE was to have a closer look at the regulatory processes taking place in Argentina, especially in the jurisdictions of Buenos Aires City, Buenos Aires Province, and Mendoza, among others. “We are specifically interested in the cybersecurity aspects of future regulations. We are also looking to explore and get to know which operators are interested in entering the market, and let them know we are ready to open our private global network to help the Argentine market.”
When asked about the different regulatory schemes across the globe, Dealba explained that each jurisdiction is different in the sense that some aspects work in some regions and not in others, but what every legislation has in common is that “they all have direct contact with Continent 8 and that is what makes us so special. We work together with the technology teams of regulators throughout the world and we serve as free consultants in topics related to internet networks, cybersecurity, and hosting, among others,” he added. “We hope that Argentine regulators are able to take advantage of our services and get to know the technologies used across the globe and decide which of them could be implemented within the region. We want to help the industry move forward in a transparent and efficient manner.”
Read the full article at Yogonet
Continent 8 Technologies was honored to be a part of the EGR Jurisdictions Report 2020, which examines the recent developments in some of the world’s most significant online gaming hubs. The experts within this report give thought to the latest developments within their jurisdiction, and how their services fill the needs in each area.
Continent 8 looks at some of the unique challenges and nuances associated with operating and providing services across the online global gaming world, from Europe to Asia, the US to Latin America:
The current state of online gaming licensing in Asia is somewhat volatile. Following the cessation of all online gaming licences in Cambodia, the Philippines remains the sole location in Asia where regulation exists that gives any level confidence in a comprehensive structure. Indeed, the Philippines recognises the value and growth the sector brings to GDP with a possibility being that the government will seek to increase tax and fees in the absence of any other emerging industry…
With a population base of almost 650 million, Latin America remains one of the major untapped markets when it comes to regulated online gambling. However, after a number of years of inertia it appears that there is genuine movement and enthusiasm afoot. Colombia was first out of the blocks when opening up the regulated online market in 2017. Other heavyweights in this market include countries such as Argentina and Brazil and there are genuine signs and actions that these markets, along with others, will move to a regulated environment in the near future. In conjunction with this, Continent 8 is in the process of establishing operations in Colombia, Mexico and other markets.
View the full Continent 8 report on pages 10-13.
Continent 8 Technologies Account Director Mario Dealba was interviewed this month by SBC Noticias, the dedicated news portal for the Spanish-speaking gaming industry. Read his insight about the challenges and opportunities presented by the region below or in Spanish at SBC Noticias.
SBC NOTICIAS – Latin America is one of the main regions where users and organizations face cyberattacks. SBCNews spoke with Mario Dealba, Account Director of Continent 8, about the challenges faced by both regulators and gaming and betting companies in computer security.
In an era of enormous cyberattacks and data leaks, information security is critical for the competitiveness of products and services. The digital transformation that the gaming and betting sector is experiencing requires the implementation of new technologies in order to adapt to the demands of the current market.
In this context, more and more companies are using the software and network provided by Continent 8, which manages the data of millions of customers. In addition to protecting data, Continent 8 also offers sophisticated shields capable of repelling DDoS cyberattacks that can crash servers by inundating them with information. Such attacks can have political, criminal and economic motivations. In commercial wars, everything goes.
As several Latin American countries move towards the regulation of online gambling and sports betting, it is imperative that governments understand that the prevention of cyber risks is crucial for the survival of the sector.
Mario Dealba, Account Director at Continent 8, remarks:
“Latin America has a fairly high number of programmers and hackers. It is a region where cyberattacks are normal and frequent. Brazil, for example, is one of the countries where most DDoS attacks in the world come from. Countries that are developing regulations have to take that into account and not underestimate the risks they could undertake by not requiring some kind of data protection and public cloud systems.”
Some regulatory frameworks state that servers must be located within the country where they operate for inspection, storage, and provision of information at the request of competent state administration agencies. “I don’t think this really helps avoid risks, but I do believe that regulatory bodies should have a list of technical requirements such as firewalls, DDoS Attack Detection and Prevention Systems, monitoring of and direct access to data banks… In turn, there should be a list of three or four accredited network and data center providers, so that everyone follows a well-defined standard, ” he adds.
For Dealba, the regulation of online gaming in Colombia issued by Coljuegos in 2016 was the initial kick for other countries to be encouraged to take a step forward. In this sense, he points out that “right now, we are monitoring what is happening in Mexico and Brazil. These are two giant economies that already have a long list of online operators.” He adds that he hopes in 2020 “the regulation will come out in Brazil, Argentina and Peru” to “formalize the industry and give users more assurances.”
Continent 8 has more than 20 years of experience and provides services to more than 160 customers in the online sector. It has approximately 50 locations in its data center network today and has “several points of presence” in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
“The goal is to open new points of presence in Latin America by the beginning of 2020,” says Dealba. The first will be in Colombia, where Continent 8 already has everything ready to start operations. “We also want to expand to Mexico and Brazil,” he says. “Continent 8 is not just a data center company. Our expertise as a specialized private global network in the gaming world positions us as a strategic ally for gaming and betting companies, enabling them to operate quickly and safely throughout the world,” he says.
Outside Latin America, the company will aim to strengthen its growth in the United States. “The market has developed a lot in the country. I am convinced that in the next twelve months more states will begin to legalize online betting,” he says.
Finally, Dealba believes that “2020 will be an interesting year, with a lot of growth and new opportunities for the sector worldwide.”
Read the article in Spanish at SBC Noticias.
Continent 8 Technologies recently had the opportunity to host a series of events at our Gibraltar data centre, celebrating Benefit Business Solutions. Gibraltar Magazine provided coverage of these innovative summits.
GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE – As part of the 5th Anniversary celebration of Benefit Business Solutions, the Rock’s only Innovation Consultancy, a series of 5 events were held in which it was unveiled that a technology start-up accelerator will be set up in Gibraltar – ‘The Rocket Accelerator.’
The events were held at Continent 8’s highly secure Data Centre located in a tunnel inside the depth of the Rock, and attended by leading business executives and government representatives, including the new Minister for Business, Vijay Daryanani, and HE Governor of Gibraltar, as well as Continent 8’s Executive Director, David Black (who flew especially from Dublin) and General Manager in Gibraltar, Luis Garcia, who provided a tour of Continent 8’s impressive facility.
Drawing on the experience that Benefit Business Solutions’ directors have with the Israeli market – a country well known for being the ‘Innovation Nation’ and a place from where many technology start-ups have evolved, the Rocket Accelerator is being formed in partnership with Gold Ventures Incubator (GVI), a company which already operates two start-up incubators in the Tel Aviv area, and similar accelerator programs in 8 countries around the world, with their local partners.
Read the full article at Gibraltar Magazine.
In the December 2019 issue, G3 Magazine recently highlighted Continent 8 Technologies’ ongoing expansion in the U.S. and around the globe. Read the article below.
G3 MAGAZINE – In 12 months, Continent 8’s US multi-state capacities have increased to include Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New York, Mississippi, and Ohio.
The headline-grabbing event has, of course, been the opening of a new data center at the Atlantic City Convention Center, in partnership with the CRDA (Casino Reinvestment Development Authority). Designed to Tier 3 standards, the data center aims to make New Jersey the largest hub for online gaming, sports betting, and eSports in the United States.
This expansion fortifies Continent 8’s commitment to Atlantic City and fulfills their pledge to create an online gaming hub designed for real-time data exchange. It provides direct connectivity to their private global network spanning over 30 locations across Europe, Asia, and North and South America.
In addition to increasing capacity in New Jersey, the new data center will include connectivity to Mississippi, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia locations, as well as provide a secure data redundancy and disaster recovery facility from which to host online gaming operators’ most critical online operations. Operators seeking to enter the New Jersey and broader US market will benefit from this Atlantic City online gaming hub, its connection to the largest online gaming global network, and Continent 8’s cybersecurity services.
Continent 8’s Chief Operating Officer David Lejeune said: “Our seamless suite of hosting security and network-managed services is primed for those immediately entering the sports betting market in the US, and we’re planning further growth as the landscape evolves. The first licensed data center and cloud offering tailored for the regulated US online gaming market opened at the Atlantic City Convention Center in June 2019, offering a unique independent hosting site. This is the only independent, licensed facility with the capability to house gaming infrastructure outside of a licensed casino. We also have locations in California, Nevada, Arizona, Iowa, Mississippi, Indiana, West Virginia, and New York. Our upcoming locations include Colorado, Florida, Illinois, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oregon, and Tennessee.”
In April, Continent 8 was authorised by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board to provide co-location, data warehousing, and managed network services to online gaming operators. Continent 8 has already opened up two centers in Pennsylvania allowing for both primary and disaster recovery operations. It was successful in getting customers operational in time for the beginning of March Madness this year.
Michael Tobin, CEO, Continent 8 Technologies, added: “The new opportunities for gaming operators, including online sports betting companies, will require a partner like Continent 8 that is knowledgeable and delivers expeditious results. The upcoming launch date for mobile online casino and sports betting only increases the urgency to set up operations now.”
Read the article in G3 Magazine here.