At a time when it’s even more crucial for iGaming operators to provide a competitive and feature-rich offering to their players, it’s equally vital their online presence is kept secure and protected from malicious attacks, says Leon Allen, Director of Innovation at Continent 8.

Whether it’s during major sporting events or weekly poker tournaments, iGaming companies need a cybersecurity solution that protects them against malicious attacks and ensures their websites are resilient.

In addition, as operators offer their players innovative products across multiple channels, their technical infrastructures must combine integrating new partners, applications and features with the highest levels of security.

But as iGaming platforms integrate these new partners and applications into their systems, their attack surface is increased, as is the potential for vulnerabilities to be exploited through malicious attacks. In reality, the threats have grown and evolved nearly as much as the technologies that they target.

And, of course, the impact of successful attacks on iGaming websites are as numerous as they are serious. They are difficult to detect because they are often automated, affect performance and functionality, can cause a major data breach and the reputational hit can be significant.

Online consumer trust

Further, online channels and e-commerce platforms have taken on even more importance in the era of COVID-19. With so many land-based venues locking down or restricting access because of the pandemic, demand for online products has increased massively as players redirect their spend towards e-commerce.

Another important point is that being able to operate a website that mitigates efficiently against malicious attacks translates into increased levels of consumer trust and confidence. For iGaming brands it means stronger levels of customer loyalty and activity, less downtime and being able to benefit from more constitent performance.

To address these challenges, Continent 8 has developed the C8 Cloud Web Application

Firewall (WAF) in partnership with cyber-security experts, Fortinet. As this is a 24×7 service, it ensures customers are always protected no matter whether this is a normal day or, crucially for our iGaming partners, during a major sport or gaming event.

By keeping web applications and the content within them safe and secure, the C8 Cloud WAF brings together a whole range of features to help operators run their websites efficiently and safely.

Protection Without Compromise

C8 Cloud WAF is part of Continent 8’s commitment to supplying our iGaming partners with the tools to ensure they are able to offer their consumers a range of entertainment options that is broad, innovative and secure. In practice this means combining security with performance, resilience with ease of use and protection without compromise.

It’s also broadly acknowledged that iGaming presents a set of technical challenges that is unique among major industries; the C8 Cloud WAF is part of Continent 8’s efforts to support this industry and drive it forward.

Most importantly however, it ensures operators are protected and can mitigate malicious attacks. This enables them to work in the full knowledge that their websites will keep performing at peak events and they can continue to focus on customer service, innovation and product development within secure environments

Ian Quayle, Director of Consulting at Continent 8 Technologies, reflects on the first phase of the Covid-19 pandemic, what it means for the technology industry, and for Continent 8 which is the trusted infrastructure partner to many of the largest brands in iGaming.

As a global technology business with an already substantial number of our people working ‘in the field’, or remotely at Continent 8, we are already very familiar with online collaboration, messaging and meeting tools. As such, no significant technology, training or cultural challenges have arisen during the recent pandemic and our business has moved, fairly seamlessly, into remote-as-default working mode and remained relatively sheltered from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic in a business context.

Our global network infrastructure approach has further bolstered our stability during the recent challenges. Due to the dynamic nature of our industry, we already had plenty of scalability and resilience engineered in, so we have been able to easily cope with any peaks of traffic (whether that be from our customer networks as more end users turn to iGaming to pass the time in lockdown, or from the increased number our own people now needing regular access to our networks from home) and have successfully handled and protected our customers from aggressors taking advantage of the global situation to launch an increased number of DDoS attacks.

We are seeing some customers change their focus (at least in the short-term), tipping the balance toward cost-efficiency over other usual business drivers. In an industry where time to market and scalability are usually so important and where the current big talking points are topics such as peak traffic and the internet being able to cope, it might seem counter intuitive to tip the scales in such a way. However, when we remind ourselves that not all online enterprises are purely dependent on online resources, perhaps it makes a little more sense. For those iGaming providers that have large parts of their portfolio dependent on live sports events, for example, there has been a widely felt drop-off in their activity when compared to other providers. Another example is in the online casino games or social gaming areas that have, it would appear, benefitted from the increased time their customers are spending at home and/or online.

Some parts of the world are now easing their lockdown measures and it will be interesting to see how many of these short-term changes – both in terms of business focus or priority and technology use – revert to their pre-pandemic state. Indeed, we hear many people talking about the ‘new normal’, mostly referring to an increase in remote working as more of the traditional office-based businesses (e.g. banks and government administrative workers etc.) have been forced to embrace a more mobile workforce and are now seeing unexpected benefits, or focusing on essential services and how perception of them in society has changed.

For our industry, once we have passed the peaks and troughs and things begin to settle, aside from those unfortunate businesses that have not survived the period of drop off in revenue, it would perhaps be relatively easy to pick up and carry on as normal. After all, as I outlined at the start of this article, it’s not as though many of our organisations have substantively changed what we do.

So, will iGaming and the wider IT industry have a ‘new normal’, or will things just return to the pre-pandemic ‘old normal’?

Perhaps to find some answers, we need to put technology to one side for a moment, and focus on people.

Like many from a technology background, I have worked remotely (often in a physically isolated manner) for many years and have always found it worked well for me. Needless to say, video conferences and online collaboration platforms have always formed a big part of day-to-day interactions in this context and it’s generally been a very comfortable way to work. So, to me and anyone used to working in this way, lockdown would be easy right? In fact, as time moved on during lockdown, I found myself becoming more averse to video sessions, having the camera switched off whenever possible and turning down ‘social events’ more often. On asking friends, I wasn’t the only one.

It turns out there have been many articles written recently on this phenomenon. Many refer to it as ‘video conference fatigue’, the underlying issue seemingly being the amount of additional concentration and focus it takes for us to pick up on subtle queues in facial expressions and body language when viewed through a video session, meaning on some occasions we could actually be more connected with someone through a simple telephone call, or chat session alongside an online game than when using video.

In the Isle of Man, where I am fortunate to be based, we are now taking the first steps out of social distancing measures and it’s obvious from a drive around the local business districts that large numbers of workers are returning to their offices at the first opportunity. I can’t help but wonder just how many of these are rushing back to the office with a massive sigh of relief that they have a choice about the way they interact and socialise again and aren’t being forced to push all of their contact through a video session.

As technology businesses then, perhaps this gives us the insight we needed to start working more proactively towards balance. Technologies such as augmented and virtual reality are already promising to change the way consumers experience online gaming, allowing ‘walk through’ casino experiences and so-on. As we explore advances such as this, we need to keep in mind the learning from recent events and ensure we don’t restrict the ability for a user to choose how they engage socially and consume content.

Being able to choose from multiple ways to ‘engage’ so we can segregate our different interactions is going to be essential to many as they emerge from the pandemic. I for one am hopeful that we won’t just return to the ‘old normal’, but rather learn to blend our technology more effectively with life in a way that allows access to all the amazing benefits, but without detriment to our underlying human feelings of connectedness.

Source: iNTERGAMINGi

At a recent Continent 8 team meeting the following comment was made: “What a year this week has been!”. The global pandemic has changed all our lives and the thoughts of us all at Continent 8 go out to those impacted by this terrible disease. We want to pay our tribute to all Malta’s key workers who have put themselves in harm’s way to protect life and to provide for us all during this time. Thank you.

Another ‘thank you’ must go to our customers for strengthening our technical and personal partnerships over the last months. At Continent 8 we are positive about the ‘new normal’. There can be no question how we work will change for us all (we have gotten to know our colleagues’ and partners’ home ‘offices’ very well recently through many video calls!). The pandemic has however brought increased reflection to why we work and our associated values. For example, our team in Malta has continued to delight customers across our global estate with personal and passionate service to represent our core personnel values of talent, work ethic, integrity and likeability. In challenging circumstances these values have been inspirational.

Our optimism has practical benefits for Malta business.

Continent 8 has recently completed a significant investment in our network in Malta providing much greater off-Island capacity into our global backbone. We will be working with determination to provide Malta with even greater opportunities for continued economic development through our expanded network and our talent around the world. In the last year we have also opened up 10 new sites in the United States alongside investments in Latin America and Asia. We believe our Malta Cloud, co-location services and local support talent, in conjunction with these continued investments, provides a further platform of opportunity from Malta for large enterprises right through to the start-up.

Continent 8 is still optimistic we will be able to roll out our planned Technology and Gaming innovation Breakfast Briefing series in 2020. If you would like to register your interest for a Breakfast Briefing please do so by emailing LoveMalta@continent8.com

We look forward to seeing international friends and partners again soon. In the meantime, stay safe, and once again on behalf of Continent 8 in Malta, thank you to all those key workers for your sacrifice and kindness over the last months. Our gratitude endures.

Source: Times of Malta

Both Continent 8 and Iforium are Isle of Man success stories, and brands that are known and respected throughout the iGaming sector. But it’s the success they have achieved in partnership which is the most striking example of how Continent 8’s years of experience in the industry, and global reach, can deliver rapid growth.

Iforium began working with Continent 8 in 2016 by providing hosting services in London. As Iforium COO Andrew Cairns points out, the decision to form that partnership was not just a matter of wanting to work with an Isle of Man headquartered business. He said: “The fact that both companies have a presence in the Isle of Man was important and obviously helped to develop a strong partnership – however, first and foremost we chose Continent 8 because of their technical capabilities, global network, experience, and reputation within the industry.”

In 2019 the partnership expanded when Iforium responded to the opportunities arising from the growing US online gaming market. Iforium became the first tenant at Continent 8’s data centre at the Atlantic City Convention Center which opened in June 2019 in partnership with the CRDA (Casino Reinvestment Development Authority).

Both companies reached significant landmarks during this time. For Continent 8 the opening of the Tier 3 designed facility was Atlantic City’s first purpose-built data centre and set the standard in the industry, while Iforium received a transactional waiver from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE), meaning that they could provide licensed operators with its Gameflex casino aggregation and seamless bonusing platform which today combines over 10,000 games from 100+ gaming vendors. These milestones would enable both companies to capitalise on the growing online gaming market in the US. The speed at which Continent was able to fast-track Iforium’s entry into the US market is another notable aspect of the partnership.

Andrew says that the decision to continue to work with Continent 8 as Iforium explored growth opportunities in the US was based on several key factors:

“We already knew that Continent 8’s connectivity, hosting, and cloud services were all first class, and that they had a strong, resilient, global network of data centres and strategic points of presence.

We also needed a partner that had an in-depth understanding of the US market, and one that was also respected and trusted by US regulators. Continent 8’s proven track record of being ahead of the curve regarding regulatory developments – and their ability to get us to market as quickly as possible – made them our first choice.”

Today, Continent 8’s multi-state capacity includes facilities in Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and West Virginia, with data centres in Florida, Nevada, Ohio, and Oregon coming soon.

In Europe, Continent 8 is also supporting Iforium with its growth strategy, most recently in Malta.
Andrew adds:

“Continent 8 provide us with the flexibility we require for varying levels of infrastructure within different markets and jurisdictions. In Malta, where Iforium currently hold a Recognition Notice from the Malta Gaming Authority, we are utilising Continent 8’s Cloud platform to meet regulatory in country data requirements, whilst also being closely located to many major clients also hosting within Malta.”

Continent 8 serves the iGaming industry by providing a wide range of innovative data security, connectivity, and managed hosting solutions to clients across the globe. It is the trusted infrastructure partner to many of the largest brands in iGaming. Its global network – now spanning 50 locations across Europe, Asia, and the Americas – is proof of their technical achievements. However, as David Black, Continent 8 Technologies’ Managing Director for Europe, Middle East and Africa, points out, the Iforium partnership illustrates several more key factors behind their success:

“For long-standing clients, a major advantage of working with us over many years stems from our collective knowledge of iGaming around the world, our respect within the industry, and the detailed understanding we gain over time about the client’s unique needs. Working with Iforium has been a rewarding experience for everyone in the Continent 8 team and we have been delighted to play a part in their achievements in the US and Europe.”

Source: iNTERGAMINGi

Peter Williams, Managing Director for Asia Pacific, recently discussed Continent 8’s upcoming plans for the region, the adoption of new technologies and growth areas in Asia Gaming Brief.

What are your plans for Asia this year and has the coronavirus had a major impact on your projects?

Continent 8 continues globally to add new locations to meet the growing demands of our committed and growing client base. Asia is no exception with major capacity additions recently implemented in addition to new services launch and enhancements to our current service offerings.   In the last 18 months Continent 8 added an additional 12 global data centre locations in parallel to significant capacity increase to our network Total available capacity now exceeds 2Terabytes. One notable addition to our security services portfolio is the launch of Web Application Firewall (WAF, a solution we are witnessing an explosive growth in demand. Apart from some minor shipping delays we are seeing no real effect on revenue or service uptake resulting from the virus outbreak at this point.

In which Asian countries are you seeing the most growth, or potential for expansion?

Taiwan continues to be the highest growth location for network, security, dedicated and cloud services. As with operators and networks, Continent 8 continues to monitor regulation and compliance and will continue with our global strategy to serve the eGaming sector in all necessary locations.

Have you noticed any trends in terms of client preferences, or in adoption of new technologies?

Our clients continuously seek the most reliable and predictable network routes into all Asian markets, including China. They are looking for ISP services not just for low latency, but an experience that is consistent with minimal packet loss. At Continent 8 we invest in people and capacity to achieve the perfect blend enabling our clients to enjoy a true differentiator.

Which of your products are you most excited about in terms of Asia potential?

The true and unchallenged differentiator in Asia is our high performance, consistent latency and highly available network. We achieve this through investing in cutting edge technology and recruiting only the highest qualified network operations and support personnel.

Are there any further Asia-related plans you would like to share?

2020 will see the addition of new office locations and staff recruitment across Asia to support growing demand. We will also be announcing enhancements to our services portfolio in the coming months ahead in addition to new locations as client demands dictate.

Source: Asia Gaming Brief

Continuing to build on our focus on the emerging markets and regulatory changes across Latin America, Continent 8 made a strategic incorporation by appointing Gabriel Szlaifsztein, former CTO for Zonamerica, to the firm’s team as a new LATAM Consultant. With great knowledge of all infrastructure networks in Latin America, our expert spoke with GMB about his new position, the company’s interest in Brazil and its objectives for 2020.

GMB: You have recently been appointed by Continent 8 to work in the region. Tell us a little about you’re arrival and what is your primary role now in this company?

Gabriel Szlaifsztein: I was working as CTO for Zonamerica, a free trade zone, established in Uruguay Colombia, EEUU and China. My responsibilities were to provide innovative IT solutions to +350 companies established mainly in Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil and Colombia.

Nowadays, my role in Continent 8 comprises mainly of “Business Development”, supporting the global company to interact with companies and regulators in LATAM, detect opportunities and establish an operational infrastructure interconnected with Continent 8’s network of data centers.

What is your opinion about the situation of sports betting regulation in Brazil? First, it was thought about as an unlimited authorization scheme and now they went to grant 30 licenses. How do you see this situation?

At this stage the regulation is leading local operators strategy, if the result is a scheme that will be for 30 licenses, it sounds better than an unlimited number of licenses. Brazil is a very big country, in a regulated and limited licenses market there will be more transparency and benefits for players, operators and the regulator.

You are a consultant for Continent 8 but if the Brazilian government contacts you, what are the first 3 key tips that you would give them in terms of gambling legalization?

In this sense, do you see Continent 8 with great chances and plans to arrive in Brazil in the short term? What could the company bring to the market and / or the government?

Continent 8 works in regulated markets, and Brazil will be a good opportunity for us to expand our global network and services to help both local and international operators to establish their operation in a secure and highly resilient manner. Continent 8 has 20+ years of experience providing connectivity, security, high availability, infrastructure and data center services to the online gaming sector.

How did you consider the system chosen by the City of Buenos Aires for its future online gaming market?

City of Buenos Aires has gained valuable experience from Colombia, Spain and many others. It is an important first step and is a strong model however some articles are very generalist and some articles are very detailed. I understand that operators will have many questions just to comply with the requirements to get the license, and the regulator will publish documents clarifying this.

We live at a stage of varied legislation in Latin America in terms of gambling. How do you see the region in general? Do you consider its growth slow or going at the expected rate?

In my opinion it is going slow, Governments should move faster to develop the regulation as a benefit for them in terms of collection, transparency and security of the activity. People in Latin America gamble, despite if regulated or not, the difference are the benefits mentioned above.

Why are countries in LATAM so advanced and others so backward in online gaming legislation? Which do you see as an example to follow?

As we all know, Colombia is an example to follow, they understood the benefits for all the parties of a regulated market and implemented the law. Argentina is similar, but not fully implemented. In Latin America there are multiple visions, the first thing to understand is that in some countries gambling is forbidden, and others there is a grey market (not strictly regulated) and they feel comfortable with that. Particularly Brazil is moving to a regulated market, but the unregulated activity is very strong and this maybe slows the transformation to regulated.

Regarding technology, security and transparency in gambling, how do you analyze? the Latin American market? Is it somehow late or at some point at the level of Europe?

Regarding technology Latin America has the technology but is not configured to support the activity considering risks of attacks and failures. Business requires high levels of security, replication, strong connectivity and availability as Continent 8 have implemented in 50 other global locations serving the online industry.

What are your short and medium-term objectives within Continent 8 for LATAM? What goals would you like to reach by the end of 2020?

The main objectives are:

Source: Games Magazine Brazil

InterGame’s ICE Daily is the only tabloid rounding up daily news from the ICE London show and distributed each show day within the exhibition hall itself. The third day’s edition features Continent 8 and how partnership is key to cloud transformation..

Partnership is key to cloud transformation, say Continent 8

Well-known provider of performance connectivity and hosting solutions, Continent 8 Technologies (stand N3-110), are showing how partnership is the key to successful market entry, technology deployment and growth.

Many operators at ICE are already working with some form of cloud services and, indeed, the benefits of cloud adoption – particularly flexibility, scalability and cost management – have been understood by many enterprises for some time.

However, in iGaming particularly, decisions, approaches and rate of adoption is often complex. There are regulatory, data sovereignty, security and scalability considerations. Of course, in an increasingly competitive market, it’s also important to keep costs under scrutiny.

Stephen Trimble, Chief Product Officer, Continent 8

Stephen Trimble, Continent 8’s Chief Product Officer, comments:
“For cloud adoption, the right formula tends to be business and situation dependent. In all cases though, IT and business leaders are benefitting from partners who can help them to work successfully under the new model, within the context of their business. A partner that understands the industry, its own challenges and which is already providing tailored solutions – which can extend to cloud – is ideal.

“Successful business transformation through the adoption of cloud and related digital services is a key growth area for us. We’re excited to be bringing together the power of our global network, cloud infrastructure and industry knowledge, alongside partnering with some of the world’s biggest names to enable and deliver bespoke cloud transformation journeys to our industry. We’re sure it will be another busy and successful year.”

They welcomed Jordan Levin, Group Chief Executive, SG Digital; John Coleman, CEO, Microgaming; Shay Segev, COO, GVC Group; Richard Carter, CEO, SBTech; and Shimon Akad, COO, Playtech, who took part in a fascinating and entertaining discussion chaired by Micky Swindale, CEO, KPMG Islands Group.

Continent 8 would like to thank the panellists and Micky for what proved to be a very popular event.

If you missed it, click below to watch the discussion.

InterGame’s ICE Daily is the only tabloid rounding up daily news from the ICE London show and distributed each show day within the exhibition hall itself. The second day’s edition features Continent 8 expansion across US & Latin America in 2020.

Continent 8 expanding across US & Latin America in 2020

It currently has data center offerings in 12 US states: Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey (3), Pennsylvania (3), Tennessee, and West Virginia. Soon to follow will be data centers in the US states of Nevada and Ohio – and in Latin America in Colombia and Mexico.

Nick Nally, Managing Director, Continent 8

Nick Nally, recently appointed as Continent 8’s Americas region MD, located in Florida, commented:
“We will continue to work with regulators within each state, and add value by understanding their requirements and ensuring we deliver solutions to meet those requirements. We are delighted to have received regulatory approval for Continent 8’s public cloud offering to support online gaming clients within New Jersey. This enables customers to access all the benefits of cloud-based solutions whilst being located within the required geographic to meet regulatory requirements.”

Continent 8’s presence within the US sector is growing rapidly, and it’s being aided by positive feedback from many high-profile partners. For example, Nikita Pinchuk, VP Global Engineering, PointsBet, said: “We are delighted to partner with Continent 8 to support our exciting entry into the US marketplace. We have been impressed with Continent 8’s expertise of the New Jersey marketplace, and seamless integration of multi-state geographies, to support our long-term growth ambitions in the United States.”

 

 

InterGame’s ICE Daily is the only tabloid rounding up daily news from the ICE London show and distributed each show day within the exhibition hall itself. The opening day’s edition features Continent 8 and its Leaders and Legends panel.

Learn from the legends: Continent 8 hosts discussion with leading industry panel

The event – scheduled to feature Jordan Levin, Group Chief Executive, SG Digital; John Coleman, CEO, Microgaming; Shay Segev, COO, GVC Group; Richard Carter, CEO, SBTech; and Shimon Akad, COO, Playtech  – is on the company’s stand (N3-110) at 11am. It’s chaired by Micky Swindale, CEO, KPMG Islands Group.

Continent 8 have invited their clients to submit questions beforehand and, of course, to come along to listen to the discussion.

Michael Tobin, CEO, Continent 8, said:
“We are really excited, and very grateful, to our partners who are taking part, and to Micky for chairing what is certain to be a lively and entertaining event. It’s a great opportunity for everyone at ICE to tap into the wealth of knowledge and experience amassed by these iGaming industry legends.”

If you can’t attend, check out Continent 8’s social media channels and website which will feature videos of the discussion over the next few days.

Visitors to the stand can also find out about Continent 8’s many successes during 2019, a year in which it significantly expanded its global footprint to over 50 connected locations across Europe, Asia and the Americas. 2020 will see further global growth, plus product innovation and investment which will begin with a new WAF product that’s being showcased at ICE.

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