The Continent 8 journey began in 1998. For more than 20 years we have been serving the global gambling industry, providing our customers with secure, high availability global managed hosting, connectivity, and security solutions. Over this time our products and services have evolved to reflect the ever-changing technology landscape.
We take great pride in being a leading service provider to the industry and at a time when demand for our solutions is increasing significantly. Despite this rapid growth, we are committed to offering quality, flexibility, and outstanding customer service via our global team while at the same time providing a local, bespoke approach to each partner.
Our reach is global, but our focus and customer service is very much local. We have an interconnected global network of more than 80 locations across four continents – Europe, Asia, North America and South America. We are launching new sites every month, particularly in the US where we are committed to being first to market in regulated states as soon as they open their doors to legal online gambling.
Take our Atlantic City data centre in New Jersey as an example. Launched in 2019 and housed within the landmark Atlantic City Convention Centre, it is the only data site in the state that has been purpose-built for the online gambling industry. It is fully compliant with DGE regulations and is the only independent, licensed facility that can house gaming infrastructure outside of a licensed casino. We are currently completing stage three expansion of the site with a modular addition approved by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, adding 30% capacity.
Regulation is incredibly complex and one of the biggest challenges we face. This is certainly the case when it comes to data security and compliance and especially in the US market where regulations differ from state to state. This is why we focus on developing relationships and working closely with regulators in each state – and in other global markets – to understand their requirements so that we can establish the right infrastructure to support our customers while also ensuring compliance.
Regulation may be complex, but it is nothing new and our 20+ years of experience in the industry means we are well placed to work with regulators, understand requirements and build the best-in-class infrastructure to deliver our solutions within the guidelines set.
Continent 8 is here to support its customers in each of the markets they wish to target. While entering new markets is not without its challenges, it is incredibly rewarding to be able to keep expanding globally and to be assisting our customers with their own expansion plans. Today we are live in 80+ locations around the world and are on target to increase that number to more than 90 by the end of the year.
Our expansion plans are truly global. Of course, the US market is a key focus right now and we are already live in 24 states with many more set to come online including Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, Ohio and South Dakota.
In Europe, we have recently opened sites in Latvia (Riga) and Romania (Bucharest).
We have also been busy in Latin America, a region where we believe the gambling industry will enjoy incredible growth over the next two to five years. We now offer our full suite of solutions in Colombia, Peru and Puerto Rico with Argentina and Brazil set to follow. What’s more, we have recently acquired sub-sea cable capacity from Portugal to Brazil to reduce latency from Europe to Latin America, providing further support to European customers entering the region.
Demand is of course a factor in defining our international expansion strategy. Right now, we know the American market is booming – with operators looking to quickly enter regulated states. As a customer-centric business, we have a clear understanding of the markets our customers are prioritising and adjust our own roadmap to ensure we are able to support their expansion plans.
We have been providing our services and solutions to the global gambling industry for the past 20 years and this puts us in a unique position of having unrivalled insight and experience in what it takes to assist our customers in successfully entering new markets.
As the US market develops and matures, companies will have to adhere to standards-based operations which means the challenge for operators will be to avoid becoming inundated with service provider contracts. At Continent 8, we’re able to offer a single contract across the US under one master services agreement with service-level agreements sitting underneath that – this makes it much easier for our customers.
The rise in the number of cyber-attacks and in particular DDoS and Ransomware is incredibly alarming. In 4Q21, we blocked 641 DDoS attacks against our customers, up from 546 in the previous quarter. It is worth noting that the Q3 number was more than double that recorded in the second quarter. Worryingly, we are not only seeing a rise in the number of attacks but also the size, which in Q4 breached 1Tbps for the second quarter running. The largest attack size registered during Q4 was 1.9Tbps – a record for us.
That is why it is vital that organisations strengthen their defences today if they are to give themselves the best opportunity to successfully defend against an attack. An attack that is more likely a case of when and not if.
We are growing incredibly quickly, especially in the US where we have a first to market strategy to ensure our customers have that all-important competitive advantage. We are also enhancing and strengthening our security products and solutions to meet the rising threat and prevalence of cyber-attacks that we have seen over the past 12 months.
This article features in iNTERGAMINGi Issue 2 2022 on Page 59.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) recently published a rare but important study into cybersecurity practices within the UK gambling and lottery sector.
Conducted by Ipsos MORI, it takes a close look at the attitudes towards cybersecurity, the key threats organisations are up against, the level of preparedness and the increased risk of falling victim to an attack faced by those that rely heavily on third parties
Below, I pick out some key takeaways from each section of the report and share my thoughts on what it means for those operating in the UK gambling and lottery industry, as well as further afield.
The report noted that the majority of stakeholders saw cybersecurity as a “very important function” within their organisation because it could directly impact customer trust and confidence in the products and services they offer. They further noted that cybersecurity was a “high priority” within the organisation but that it was a “competing priority” and that it was seen more as part of the IT function than as being integral to the overall success of the business.
It is good to see that the wider industry is taking cybersecurity seriously and that it is considered a high priority by most organisations in the sector. As it should be, given the seriousness of being subjected to a cybersecurity attack as shown by the average cost of a data breach in 2021 being $4.2m according to IBM.
Cybersecurity is nothing new to Continent 8, which has been protecting operators’, suppliers’ and industry data for more than 20 years. Over that time, we have continued to enhance and augment our Secure suite of solutions to meet the ever-changing demands of the sector. This includes the addition of our Endpoint Protection and SOC/SIEM solutions to address the ever-growing concern around ransomware.
In addition, it has become increasingly important – no, essential – to educate and train staff at all levels about the cybersecurity threats being faced and what needs to be done to mitigate them.
Given cybersecurity is, however, still seen as a “competing priority” it lends further weight to ensuring cybersecurity experts are given a voice at the most senior levels of a business, to guarantee they are advised regarding the latest threats, and to ensure they have planned their response to a cybersecurity attack before it actually happens.
The NCSC report identified four of the most prevalent threats being faced by organisations in the gambling and lottery sector. It’s no surprise that Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks made the list, but the most prevalent threat identified was credential stuffing (i.e. using previously stolen credentials).
Other threats highlighted include phishing and ransomware, which was identified as the “most severe threat” both in terms of an organisation’s ability to defend against a possible attack and in terms of the impact it could have.
When it comes to DDoS, the report noted a rise in the number of attacks during 2020 and at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic where the shift to work from home presented more vulnerabilities that “bored” and “opportunistic” cyber criminals were keen to exploit.
Our own data shows that the volume and size of DDoS attacks have continued to rise despite life returning to normal. In 4Q21 we blocked 641 DDoS attacks against our customers, up from 546 in the previous quarter. It is worth noting that the Q3 number was more than double that recorded in the second quarter.
This demonstrates the importance of taking a multi-layered approach to cybersecurity in order to protect against the various attack methods used by hackers and criminals. Protection should cover the data, endpoints, applications and network layers of your business to safeguard against the different types of threats. The defences, such as a private network, DDoS, WAAP, SIEM/SOC and EDR/MDR, operate together to protect an organisation.
Those interviewed for the report said they felt they were “well prepared to deal with cyber attacks” but many noted challenges when it came to ensuring that cybersecurity was taken into “consideration at every step of the product development” and ensuring better ownership of risks.
Employee awareness was also considered to be good, but this can only be achieved by continued training through a mix of mandatory courses as well as fictitious attacks (such as phishing campaigns) to test and improve the resilience of the wider workforce
One of the most interesting findings to come out of the NCSC report was the reliance on third parties, and in particular game studios and content providers, and the impact this has on security.
All of the organisations interviewed for the report used a large number of third-party providers, ranging from between 75 and 10,000.
The report highlighted a number of risks of using third parties to such a great extent, including the confidentiality of user data as well as the increased risk of cyber attacks against their own systems and networks if a third-party provider were to become compromised.
If you use third-party providers, my advice would be to treat them with the same level of diligence as if they were directly part of your business. Request to see their security strategy and ensure it meets the same standards as your core business.
Crucially, what is essential here is a complete understanding of the unique nature of the iGaming industry, especially given it is one of the most attacked of all market sectors
Having served the global gambling industry for more than two decades, Continent 8 not only understands the importance of a safe player experience but how to provide this by ensuring data is effectively protected.
Managed hosting, connectivity, cloud and security provider expands its solutions in North America with the first regulated public cloud offering in the state of Pennsylvania
Continent 8 Technologies continues to deploy its first-to-market approach in North America after being given the green light by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) to launch its regulated Gaming Cloud to operators and suppliers in the state.
Continent 8’s Gaming Cloud is a Public Cloud and is already available to customers in a number of other regulated North American locations including New Jersey (Atlantic City) and most recently Ontario.
It offers a multi-tenanted, scalable and resilient IaaS platform that allows customers to host infrastructure as Virtual Machines.
Continent 8 works closely with regulators across the fast-growing North American market to ensure that its full suite of solutions is fully compliant, allowing its customers to leverage the first-mover advantage in each state.
For Pennsylvania, regulations state that tenants in the Gaming Cloud must be licensed by the PGCB and hardware comprising the Gaming Cloud must be located at the primary and backup locations Continent 8 provides in the state.
The approval of a regulated Public Cloud adds to Continent 8’s existing services in Pennsylvania, which today comprises three data centers and points of presence.
Pennsylvania legalized online gambling in 2017. Since then, Continent 8 has expanded its solutions to serve customer demand, offering a fully regulated hosting environment under its PGCB interactive Gaming Service Provider authorization.
Nick Nally, Managing Director of Americas at Continent 8 Technologies, said:
“Receiving approval from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board for our Gaming Cloud forms part of our aggressive strategy to deliver our regulated cloud to multiple new states in the US, as demand for our cloud solutions continues to rise.”
Justin Cosnett, Chief Product Officer at Continent 8 Technologies, added:
“We are proud to be the first service provider to offer this regulated community cloud solution in the state; we understand the power of the first-mover, pay-as-you-grow advantage in such highly competitive states and markets.”
Continent 8 is already live in 24 US states with additional sites set to launch in the coming months as the company continues its mission of being the go-to hosting and connectivity provider in North America.
Our team will be attending iGaming NEXT New York City, 12 – 13 May in Manhattan.
Continent 8 is proud to be supporting the event as main stage sponsor, which will play host to many world class speakers across the 2 days. 🗽
With a connected network of over 80+ locations globally, including 24 US states, Continent 8 is the trusted infrastructure partner to the fast-growing US iGaming industry, offering market-leading Connect, Manage and Secure solutions.
Find out more about how our business can support your growth in North America and further afield; set up a meeting with our dedicated team by emailing sales@continent8.com
We look forward to seeing you soon at this exciting new event. To learn more about iGaming NEXT New York City visit: NYC22 – iGaming NEXT
Our team will be attending iGaming NEXT New York City, 12 – 13 May in Manhattan.
Continent 8 is proud to be supporting the event as main stage sponsor, which will play host to many world class speakers across the 2 days. 🗽
With a connected network of over 80+ locations globally, including 24 US states, Continent 8 is the trusted infrastructure partner to the fast-growing US iGaming industry, offering market-leading Connect, Manage and Secure solutions.
Find out more about how our business can support your growth in North America and further afield; set up a meeting with our dedicated team by emailing sales@continent8.com
To learn more about the conference visit iGaming NEXT
C8 Secure – a provider of comprehensive, multi-layered security solutions that focus on threat prevention – has announced a partnership with Vaya Space – a hybrid rocket propulsion and SmallSat launch company – to bring security solutions to the space industry and take C8 Secure’s parent company – Continent 8 Technologies and its network, literally into space.
Jack Blood, Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing at Vaya Space, said, “We are excited to help Continent 8 Technologies Founder and CEO, Michael Tobin, continue to expand his vision for Continent 8 by providing space launch services for a planned satellite network. Partnering with C8 Secure, a new Continent 8 company, provides our launch customers and partners with turnkey cyber-security solutions for their operations, payloads, and constellations.”
In addition, this partnership will enable Continent 8 Technologies to increase network footprint, availability, and performance through the use of satellite technology.
Michael Tobin, Founder & CEO of Continent 8 said, “We’re thrilled to announce our partnership with Vaya Space. It’s a complete game changer that brings three industry-leading organizations together. Continent 8 has always been deeply committed to reliable innovation and continued investment in advanced data centers, networks and digital infrastructure technology. This partnership allows us to literally bring our network into space, while at the same time knowing that Vaya’s customers and partners will be protected by the cybersecurity solutions that C8 Secure provides.”
Patrick Gardner, Managing Partner at C8 Secure, comments, “We are honored with the opportunity to extend our cybersecurity solution reach from customer premises to data centers and now space. Space-based systems and regulatory frameworks represent unique new challenges and we are up to the task, drawing upon our history of security and compliance success.”
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Specialist digital infrastructure provider responds to customer demand as province regulates online gambling market
Continent 8 Technologies is launching its Public Cloud solution in Toronto, Ontario in response to customer demand for cutting-edge cloud solutions now that the province has opened its doors to online gambling.
As of 4 April 2022, the province permits private gaming websites with appropriate licensing to start taking wagers.
Already live and licensed in several North American markets including New Jersey’s Atlantic City since 2015, Continent 8’s proven Public Cloud platform offers customers a multi-tenanted, scalable and resilient IaaS platform that allows them to host infrastructure as Virtual Machines.
Key features of the platform include a self-service portal with template-based provisioning, feature-rich Edge devices, the ability to integrate with Continent 8’s Co-Location, MPLS network and Cloud Connect services, as well as DDoS protection and additional cybersecurity services.
A significant benefit for customers utilising the cloud is that it eliminates the need for ongoing hardware investment which in turn provides the flexibility to pay for resources as required. In addition, Continent 8 fully manages the cloud environment, removing the need for customers to maintain and support infrastructure and instead focus on their business.
Michael Tobin, CEO and Founder of Continent 8 Technologies, said:
“Launching our solution in Toronto forms part of our wider expansion plans for North America where we are growing rapidly to meet the demand for this vertical and other rewarding markets. Our customers can be assured that in Continent 8 they have an infrastructure partner that can support them in any location they need.”
Justin Cosnett, Chief Product Officer at Continent 8 Technologies, added:
“We have seen a surge in demand for our Public Cloud solution in Ontario since the province confirmed that it would be opening its doors to legal online gambling for the first time this month. Continent 8 is no stranger to providing its services in new markets globally. Our presence in Toronto forms part of our unrivalled connected network that spans four continents.”