Swimmer, an enrolled member of the United Keetoowah Band, brings a wealth of experience in technology and cybersecurity to the Council
Continent 8 Technologies, a leading provider of cutting-edge managed IT solutions designed for the global iGaming and tribal gaming industry, is proud to announce that Jerad Swimmer, Regional Sales Director, has been appointed as an Advisor to the Tribal Leadership Council (TLC). This prestigious appointment recognizes Jerad’s deep expertise and commitment to advancing technology solutions and robust cybersecurity strategies that support Tribal sovereignty and economic development.
The Tribal Leadership Council is a national organization committed to advancing the sovereignty, leadership, and long-term sustainability of Tribal nations across the United States. The TLC today announced the appointment of three new Advisors – Jerad Swimmer, Shane Urry, and Michael Kim.
As an enrolled member of the United Keetoowah Band, Swimmer brings a wealth of experience in technology infrastructure, cybersecurity and strategic partnerships across Indian Country. His career includes leadership roles in compliance and gaming regulation, providing him with a unique perspective on the intersection of digital innovation and protection, and Tribal enterprise.
“Being appointed as an Advisor to the Tribal Leadership Council is an incredible honor,” said Jerad Swimmer. “I look forward to collaborating with the admired Board of Directors and fellow Advisors to drive initiatives that strengthen sovereignty and create sustainable opportunities for Tribal communities. Technology and cybersecurity play a vital role in this journey, and I’m excited to contribute my experience to support these efforts.”
Jerad Swimmer will be attending GSATS Phoenix 2025 and is speaking on the panel titled ‘Tribal Gaming – Unique Challenges and Opportunities’ on November 13. To arrange a show meeting, please visit www.continent8.com or contact sales@continent8.com.
Bolton, tasked with accelerating growth within the company’s cybersecurity portfolio, brings over 20 years of experience to the role
Continent 8 Technologies, a leading provider of cutting-edge managed IT solutions designed for the global iGaming and online sports betting industry, announces the appointment of Rob Bolton as Cybersecurity Sales Director.
In recent years, the iGaming industry has faced significant cyber attacks driven largely by financial motives. The use of diverse payment methods, reliance on third party integrations and widespread use of mobile devices contribute to the industry being targeted.
His appointment follows several years of strategic investment by the company in its cybersecurity solutions, aimed at supporting operators and suppliers across the industry. This has included developing key offerings such as Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), Threat Exchange, and a fully managed Security Operations Centre (SOC). These developments underscore the company’s commitment to delivering robust, scalable, and proactive security services that meet the evolving needs of its customers.
Bolton has vast experience leading US, EMEA and APAC revenue functions having worked at global MSSPs such as Versa Networks, Proofpoint and Infoblox. In his new role, he will oversee revenue growth across the company’s growing cybersecurity portfolio, engaging with CISOs and technical teams for Continent 8 and C8 Secure (a dedicated Continent 8 cybersecurity company) to identify the solutions required to best protect their business.
Patrick Gardner, Chief Security Officer at Continent 8 Technologies, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Rob to the team who brings over two decades of experience in sales and business development to Continent 8. His deep technical knowledge and strategic vision will be invaluable as we continue to evolve and enhance our solutions to best support our customers.”
Rob Bolton, Cybersecurity Sales Director at Continent 8 Technologies, added: “Continent 8’s portfolio and service offering in the iGaming industry is unique; their managed security solutions are built on over 27 years of industry experience. The recent launch of the Threat Exchange – the industry’s only cyber threat intelligence platform – is a prime example. I look forward to showcasing our security solutions to the industry, supporting customers with their cybersecurity challenges, and contributing to the company’s growth.”
Rob Bolton will be attending GSATS Phoenix 2025 and is speaking on the panel titled ‘Cyber Resiliency – Protecting the Gaming Industry’ on November 13. To arrange a show meeting, please visit www.continent8.com or contact sales@continent8.com.
Continent 8 Technologies’ Regional Sales Director, Jerad Swimmer, and Principal Solutions Architect, Tony Engel, recently attended TribalNet Conference & Tradeshow.
Here, Jerad and Tony share their key takeaways from the show.
Tony Engel (TE): It was another great event. The show was noticeably larger this year, with considerable growth in participation and an impressive expansion in educational track sessions, which was great to see.
Jerad Swimmer (JS): I absolutely agree with Tony – it was another great event! We had the opportunity to engage with CIOs, CTOs, CSOs, IT directors, IT managers and security analysts, demonstrating active interest from all levels of IT infrastructure and security leadership.
TE: A notable theme from this year’s event was the continued advancement of cybersecurity maturity across the industry. Attendees displayed deep technical expertise and a proactive commitment to implementing cybersecurity strategies, whether it’s security operations centers (SOCs) or vulnerability assessment and penetration tests (VAPTs). I can see the tides are changing, and they’re changing fast, which is great to see through the lens of a cybersecurity professional.
JS: 100%! Cybersecurity dominated our discussions, with significant interest in pen testing, the latest threat detection and response approaches, as well as the real-world benefits of cyber training and simulation methods to strengthen the human element within an organization’s security posture.
It was also interesting to see the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) as a key presentation track at this year’s event. I had the opportunity to attend some of the sessions which explored AI’s role as both a protective and adversarial entity and insights into how tribal casinos can monitor and protect their operations.
TE: As I mentioned earlier, cybersecurity evolves quickly, and this necessitates ongoing discussions with managed security service providers (MSSPs) to ensure the adoption of leading best practices. The increased visibility of cybersecurity as a core presentation track at the conference demonstrates the industry’s commitment to making cybersecurity a strategic priority, which is reassuring to see.
JS: Threat intelligence was a focal point at TribalNet, with tribal organizations actively seeking to integrate this capability into their security frameworks. The tribal gaming community will be pleased to hear that Continent 8 has just launched Threat Exchange – the industry’s first dedicated cyber threat intelligence (CTI) platform. Purpose-built for the gaming community, this platform delivers actionable intelligence, providing tribal gaming entities with exclusive insights into emerging threats. This development enables tribal organizations to now make informed decisions and implement advanced measures to enhance the security of their gaming environments.
If you’re also looking to further the conversation on cybersecurity for tribal gaming, we invite you to visit Booth #4235 at G2E Las Vegas, from October 7-9. Book a meeting today and we’ll be happy to schedule a time with you at the show: https://lp.continent8.com/global-gaming-expo-2025
Continent 8 provides comprehensive, multi-layered threat prevention, detection and response solutions to secure your tribal organization’s digital assets in the face of evolving cyber threats. For more information on how Continent 8 can support your cybersecurity initiatives, email sales@continent.com or fill out our Contact Us page.
Download the tribal cybersecurity checklist to start your proactive cybersecurity journey.
Also, be sure to watch the latest episode in our Tribal Talks: Cybersecurity Unlocked podcast series. Each episode delves into new stories, insights gained, best practices and key developments that are shaping the future of tribal casino gaming and cybersecurity.
Tribal Talks: Cybersecurity Unlocked
As the iGaming and online sports betting industry faces increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, Continent 8 is proud to launch Threat Exchange – the sector’s first dedicated cyber threat intelligence (CTI) platform.
Below, we answer some of the most pressing questions regarding the solution and how it is tailored for incident response teams, operators, platform providers, B2B gaming technology companies and regulators.
A cyber threat intelligence (CTI) platform collects, analyses and shares information about current and emerging cyber threats to help organisations anticipate, detect and respond to attacks more effectively. It typically includes:
CTI platforms are essential for building a proactive security posture, especially in high-risk industries like iGaming and online sports betting.
Threat Exchange is a managed cyber threat intelligence platform designed specifically for the iGaming and online sports betting industry. It delivers real-time, sector-specific insights to help incident response teams, operators, platform providers, B2B gaming technology companies and regulators detect and share information on emerging threats, sharpen awareness and act with confidence.
Unlike generic CTI solutions, Threat Exchange is purpose-built for iGaming. It leverages Continent 8’s and C8 Secure’s unique position as both an internet service provider (ISP) and managed security service provider (MSSP) in the industry, offering exclusive intelligence, real-time threat correlation and honeypot-driven insights tailored to gaming environments.
Threat Exchange addresses the following critical challenges:
Cyber Threat Exchange’s key features include:
Whether you’re protecting high-value player accounts, monitoring threats during major sporting events or securing gaming APIs, Threat Exchange is designed to meet the needs of the industry. The solution is suitable for:
Threat Exchange offers several tiers, from a community tier with basic access to advanced tiers with predictive analytics and premium add-ons. Each tier is designed to meet different operational needs and cybersecurity maturity levels.
It’s important that businesses take a multi-layered approach to cybersecurity to ensure full protection. Add-on services include:
We’re excited for the launch but we’re already looking to the future. Developments include:
Contact your Continent 8 account manager or visit Threat Exchange to request a demo, explore pricing tiers and see how Threat Exchange can elevate your cybersecurity posture.
The sector-specific platform equips iGaming and online sports betting operators, platform providers and B2B gaming technology companies with real-time insights to stay ahead of cyber threats
Continent 8 Technologies, a leading provider of cutting-edge managed IT solutions designed for the global iGaming and online sports betting industry, introduces Threat Exchange – the industry’s first dedicated cyber threat intelligence (CTI) platform. This game-changing solution equips incident response teams, operators, platform providers, B2B gaming technology companies and regulators with actionable, real-time intelligence to proactively detect and share information on emerging threats, enhance incident response and deepen understanding of the threat landscape.
The iGaming and online sports betting industry: a prime target for cyber threats
The iGaming sector remains a primary target for cyber attacks, driven by the substantial volume of financial transactions and high-value customer data – recent analysis reveals a surge of over 400% in cyber incidents impacting both online and land-based casino operators since February 2025. Today’s critical cybersecurity challenge is the ability to efficiently manage and analyse large-scale, complex datasets to detect and correlate emerging, sector-specific threats in real time. Threat Exchange directly addresses these requirements with a dedicated CTI platform engineered to:
Patrick Gardner, Chief Security Officer at Continent 8 said: “Threat Exchange is changing the game, providing unrivalled visibility into the behaviours and tactics of threat actors. Leveraging our position as the industry’s cybersecurity partner, we are able to analyse vast and complex datasets and deliver the results in a clear, actionable format. Customers have consistently asked for greater intelligence and deeper analysis, and Threat Exchange is our response – a purpose-built solution designed to meet the unique security challenges of the iGaming and online sports betting industry.”
Continent 8 will be exhibiting at G2E Las Vegas, from 7-9 October at Booth 4235. To schedule a demo of Threat Exchange at the show, please visit https://lp.continent8.com/global-gaming-expo-2025.
Michael Tobin ranks 4th in tech rankings, as industry prioritises trust and compliance
Michael Tobin, CEO of Continent 8 Technologies, has been named one of the top global tech leaders in the iGaming industry, as featured in GamblingIQ’s ‘Game of Trust’ 2025 edition. This recognition comes at a pivotal moment for the sector, which is increasingly prioritising transparency, regulatory compliance and technological resilience.
Tobin has been at the helm of Continent 8 since its inception over 25 years ago. He has been instrumental in positioning the global business as a cornerstone of infrastructure for regulated iGaming and online sports betting markets worldwide. He has cultivated deep relationships with regulators, operators and technology partners, enabling Continent 8 to deliver secure, compliant and scalable IT solutions across more than 100 locations globally.
A true people-person, he is widely respected within the industry. Gambling IQ’s commentary on Tobin mentioned: “Michael Tobin has become one of the defining figures in iGaming infrastructure… In an industry often chasing the next big thing, Tobin embodies the kind of leadership that prioritises stability and sustainable growth without losing sight of innovation.”
Michael Tobin, CEO and Founder of Continent 8 Technologies said: “I’m honoured to be recognised in this list, and it’s especially pleasing to see many of our partners and customers also featured. Trust is fundamental to our business – our customers put their trust in us every day to manage and protect their infrastructure, to enable them to focus on what they do best. Congratulations to all individuals listed.”
View the full Trusted 10 from GamblingIQ here.
Continent 8 will be exhibiting at G2E Las Vegas, from 7-9 October at Booth 4235. To arrange a show meeting and explore the technologies required to scale any iGaming business, please visit www.continent8.com or contact sales@continent8.com.
Continent 8’s end-to-end regulatory cybersecurity services ensure Rising Digital maintains full compliance within the six – and growing – US states in which it operates.
Rising Digital Corporation is a gaming company that develops and publishes slot games, table games, game systems and game platforms. Recognized as the leading developer of Asian slot games in the casino gaming industry, Rising Digital provides games to the major gaming manufacturers worldwide.
Rising Digital required a Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP) to architect and deploy regulatory compliance programs tailored to the diverse requirements of each interested US state jurisdiction, ensuring consistent, best-in-class security and regulatory standards across all operational states.
Rising Digital selected Continent 8, its existing cloud partner and the leading provider of infrastructure and cybersecurity solutions for the iGaming and online sports betting sector, to lead its regulatory cybersecurity strategy.
In collaboration with Continent 8 and its cybersecurity specialist division, C8 Secure, Rising Digital successfully completed a comprehensive suite of regulatory compliance assessments and services, including:
Rising Digital has successfully rolled out a comprehensive cybersecurity program across multiple jurisdictions, including Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia – as well as the Canadian province of Ontario – delivering compliance with state-specific requirements. In addition, Continent 8’s regulatory cybersecurity expertise has enabled the proactive identification of vulnerabilities and the delivery of actionable insights that fortify Rising Digital’s cybersecurity posture.
By partnering with Continent 8 and leveraging its regulatory cybersecurity services, Rising Digital is strategically positioned to proactively address and surpass evolving compliance requirements. This collaboration ensures a measurable competitive edge with regulators across both forthcoming US state market deployments and established jurisdictions.
Aimin Cong, CEO of Rising Digital, said: “We are delighted to formalize our relationship with Continent 8 for our growing iGaming operations business. With the utmost importance being placed upon compliance, performance and security, we believe Continent 8 is an excellent infrastructure and cybersecurity services partner.”
Patrick Gardner, Chief Security Officer at Continent 8, said: “We are honored that Rising Digital has placed its trust in Continent 8 as its infrastructure and cybersecurity partner as they expand their operations across the United States.
“At Continent 8, we pride ourselves as being a one-stop-shop provider of infrastructure, cloud, regulatory and cybersecurity solutions. Our services enable iGaming companies like Rising Digital to swiftly meet multi-state regulatory requirements, safeguarding their operations while providing peace of mind. We stand committed to setting the highest standards and value for cybersecurity and compliance services within the ever-growing iGaming and online sports betting sector.”
For more information on how to meet your jurisdiction’s regulatory cybersecurity requirements, visit continent8.com or contact sales@continent8.com.
surge in virtualisation costs mitigated
virtual appliances migrated seamlessly
to achieve ROI on migration services
for project completion
Sportingtech is a multi-award-winning provider of turnkey betting and gaming solutions designed for regulated and emerging markets around the globe. The omni-channel platform offers solutions for sportsbook, casino and retail betting operators, with over 10,000 products from more than 100 games providers.
With an ‘all-VMware’ virtualised enterprise private cloud architecture, the post-VMware acquisition licensing changes represented a significant cost burden to the business, up to a 42% increase in virtualisation costs.
In search of an experienced service provider to design, plan and execute a migration to a new, more cost-effective virtualised hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI), Sportingtech selected Continent 8 Technologies – a Nutanix Authorised Service Provider and current Sportingtech infrastructure and cybersecurity services partner – to provide professional and managed migration services to deliver the project using the Nutanix AHV virtualisation platform.
There were multiple requirements to be met from technical to commercial, with a requirement for minimal operational impact:
Continent 8 proposed and delivered a solution using Nutanix AHV and:
| 1. Availability | 2. Cost | 3. Speed |
|---|---|---|
Continent 8 created a migration plan and schedule which minimised impact to the customer and maximised productivity. By delving into the customer’s key operational requirements and understanding workload utilisation, this plan minimised the chance of failure or impact. During migrations, user experiences remained unaffected, although Continent 8 provided heightened support availability in case of issue or roll-back. | By migrating, Continent 8 was able to demonstrate: • Zero-change hypervisor licensing fees over remaining term of commitment. | Continent 8 performing the work allowed customer’s operational-focused teams to maintain their regular tasks, enabling the project to be undertaken at speed. From engagement to execution, the project was completed on-time and within budget. Continent 8 utilised project management resources to ensure all tasks were completed in order and key milestones achieved. |
Continent 8 successfully orchestrated a VMware-to-Nutanix migration, transitioning to a virtualisation platform that ensures predictable, manageable and lower costs, while circumventing VMware’s 42% increase in licensing fees. The project was executed with minimal-to-zero disruption to Sportingtech’s operations and users, delivering a seamless end-to-end migration experience.
“We are always looking for ways to enhance the solution we build for our customers and to keep costs down. Working with Continent 8, who constantly push to provide efficiencies, cost reductions and value-added expertise, made good sense to us. They continue to be a valued partner and managed to deliver the project on time with no service interruption for us or our customers, which is critical.”
Michael Jack, Chief Technology Officer at Sportingtech
“Continent 8 is able to use its experience with VMware, Nutanix, private and public clouds to provide professional as well as managed services to customers, enabling them to focus on core revenue-generating operations. Being able to demonstrate such a significant saving and ROI will be of interest to many enterprises in today’s market. It’s thanks to the experienced and highly qualified project and cloud engineering staff at Continent 8 that we were able to successfully complete this project, while earning Sportingtech’s trust to manage their critical operational infrastructure.”
Justin Cosnett, Chief Product Officer at Continent 8
Discover how Continent 8 can assist in evaluating, optimising and migrating your workloads to a new cloud platform by registering for a free cloud architectural review*.
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Following the release of the National Indian Gaming Commission’s (NIGC) Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) report, Jerad Swimmer, Regional Sales Director at Continent 8 Technologies, provides a mid-year report on the state of tribal gaming in 2025.
On July 31, the NIGC published its annual GGR report, highlighting a record-setting $43.9 billion in revenue for FY 2024. This achievement reflects a 4.6% year-over-year increase, representing growth of $2 billion, with data collected from 532 gaming operations run by 243 federally recognized tribes across 29 states. In the NIGC press statement, Acting NIGC Chairwoman Sharon Avery remarked:
“This year’s GGR reflects not only the resilience of the tribal gaming industry, but also the dedication of tribal leadership in preserving and growing this important economic driver for their communities. The continued success of Indian gaming is a testament to the strong tribal governance and the sound regulation that protects the integrity of the industry.”
These figures emphasize the critical economic contribution of tribal gaming, supporting essential initiatives across employment, infrastructure, education and social services within tribal communities. Yet, as the tribal gaming industry’s financial impact continues to expand, so does its exposure to cyber threat actors aiming to benefit from this growth.
Over the past year, the industry has witnessed significant cyber incidents. In April of last year, a tribal casino was forced to suspend its operations following a cyber breach and advised patrons to monitor account activity for potential unauthorized access. In February of this year, one tribe experienced a ransomware attack that disrupted telecommunications and IT systems across multiple tribal entities, including casino operations.
During recent key industry events – including the OIGA Conference and Trade Show, the Indian Gaming Convention and Tradeshow (IGA) and the TribalHub Cybersecurity Summit – our team has also received direct reports of numerous cybersecurity incidents. These events have resulted in a range of financial, operational and reputational impacts for affected organizations. These forums have provided tribal casinos, gaming commissions and government bodies in Indian Country with valuable opportunities to share their cybersecurity challenges and engage with experts on effective threat mitigation strategies.
Given the ongoing and evolving cyber threat landscape, tribal gaming organizations must adopt a proactive cybersecurity posture – operating with an ‘assume breach’ mindset and prioritizing resilience. Robust measures are essential to safeguard infrastructure, player data, critical platforms and preserve tribal sovereignty. Recommended best practices for comprehensive cyber defense include:
As a trusted Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP), we partner with tribal gaming organizations – including Cherokee Tribal Gaming Commission (TGC), ShowNation, Tachi Palace Casino Resort – to foster a culture of cybersecurity awareness, strengthen organizational security posture and ensure long-term operational resiliency.
Continent 8 provides comprehensive, multi-layered threat prevention, detection and response solutions to secure your tribal organization’s digital assets in the face of evolving cyber threats. For more information on how Continent 8 can support your cybersecurity initiatives, email sales@continent.com or fill out our Contact Us page.
Also, be sure to listen back to our Tribal Talks: Cybersecurity Unlocked podcast series. Each episode delves into new stories, insights gained, best practices and key developments that are shaping the future of tribal casino gaming and cybersecurity.