After the announcement of the Casino Guru Awards last week, Casino Guru News is excited to outline one of the most important categories for the upcoming ceremony and the people who will decide what the best companies in it are. The Casino Guru Awards category for “The Best Implementation of Responsible Gambling Tools” is set in a way to make sure that all entries are judged objectively and fairly, we have secured the services of industry specialists with proven track record and extensive understanding of the subject matter.
Casino Guru Awards is thrilled to introduce Gordon Moody CEO Matthew Hickey, Responsible Gaming Foundation General Manager Kevin O’Neill, Responsible Gambling Council Director, Standards and Accreditation Tracy Parker, Gamban VP of Strategic Partnerships Stephen Aupy, Entain SVP for American Regulatory Affairs and Responsible Gambling Martin Lycka, Kindred Head of Responsible Gaming & Research Maris Catania from, and Genius Gaming Consult – Senior Consultant Regulatory Frameworks James Mpiirwe, Betknowmore Head of External Affairs Matt Smith, Gambling Addiction Expert Jody Bechtold, and Pieter Remmers, Founder Assissa Consultancy Europe as the judges for this crucial category which is a focal point of everything Casino Guru Awards is about.
- Matthew Hickey is an industry veteran with 20 years of experience under his belt. Gordon Moody is focused on providing treatment to people who are severely addicted to gambling.
- Kevin O’Neill’s position as General Manager for the Responsible Gambling Foundation gives him the opportunity to drive industry standards and resonates with his genuine interest in promulgating responsibility during gambling activity to both player and operator.
- Tracy Parker primary interest is on collaborating with organizations through her position at the Responsible Gambling Council and foster meaningful industry-wide change. Parker is determined to help organizations introduce safer gambling experiences by tapping into best practice research, employee training policies, and more.
- Stephen Aupy from Gamban is working on helping key stakeholders in the industry achieve commercial sustainability while ensuring high player protection standards. Aupy comes from a philosophy of “lived experience” in approaching responsible gambling tools and initiatives.
- Martin Lycka has more than 12 years of experience working on various responsible gambling initiatives in listed gambling companies. He is currently with Entain. Lycka is also part of the Entain Foundation, the Entain Foundation US and the American Gaming Association’s boards and has a deep understanding of the RG aspect of the industry.
- Maris Catania is specializing in understanding the early symptoms and signs of gambling addiction, and she has been working hard to expand the industry’s understanding of what early signs should be addressed and what responsible gambling tools need to be used to achieve that. Her work with Kindred Group has been crucial to this end.
- James Mpiirwe is a legal practitioner with 13 years of experience. He pioneered the National Responsible Gaming Policy of Uganda, and he has used his more than a decade of experience to drive impactful and meaningful change in the industry.
- Matt Smith has been with Betknowmore as Head of External Affairs for years now. He has lived experience of gambling and he is passionate about providing support and training services to prevent and address personal and societal harms caused by gambling.
- Jody Bechtold is an esteemed problem gambling specialist and co-author of “The Gambling Disorder Treatment Handbook: A Guide for Mental Health Professionals” Her experience spans multiple organizations and institutions that are studying and looking to help tackle problem gambling.
- Pieter Remmers is the Founder of Assissa Consultancy Europe, a household organization that provides responsible gambling training to the industry. Under his leadership, Assissa has worked and brought around impactful changes in a number of regulated markets across Europe and his own track record with gambling goes back to 1989.
Casino Guru will also bring its own judges to the process as well with Head of Content Maros Gasparik and Sustainable & Safer Gambling Lead Simon Vincze also weighing in. Vincze brings a unique insight into the online gambling industry and how it can become safer for everyone at attested by his work on the Global Self-Exclusion Scheme and Casino Guru Academy.
Each of the judges of the panel has a deeper understanding of problem gambling and the problems that the industry faces, and how important responsible gambling tools can be. This is why Casino Guru Awards has seen it fit to only invite people who truly understand that.
All of these judges have had different although similar experience with understanding, fostering, and even developing Responsible Gambling Tools. Because of this, Casino Guru Awards feel strongly that the panel of judges will be able to distinguish the most accomplished companies in this field.