With COVID preventing face-to-face gatherings, there has been a dramatic increase
in the number of online conferences across the iGaming industry this year.
This autumn, SBC have adopted a more regional focus, with individual events
dedicated to LATAM, the CIS and the US amongst others. This week, it was Africa in
the spotlight, where I moderated a panel for the very first time.
This was very much a last-minute switch, with me standing in for a fellow Dam Mad
Media director who was unavailable. This meant the nerves were amplified, as not
only was I doing something new and public-facing, but I only had two working days
to get up to speed with the subject – Problem Gambling: The South Africa Approach.
As it turned out, there was nothing to worry about as SBC guided me through the
entire process.
On Monday morning, I was introduced to the panelists through SBC’s Natalie Lees,
which allowed me to arrange a mutually agreeable time to plan our talk. This took
place on Tuesday morning, where we thrashed through the main topics of
discussion and set the agenda. Any issues surrounding technology were assuaged by the technical check that was conducted inside the SBC portal on Monday afternoon. This also enabled us to be trained on the user-friendly system we would use during our panel.
Everything we needed was in there – the Q&A functionality where audience
questions would be directed as well as a Live Chat function so we could talk to each
other in private where necessary. I could also see the panelists’ webcams on
screen, giving me a view of what the audience would be seeing. All of this made
dictating the flow of the talk much easier.
Furthermore, we were told that one of the SBC team would always be on hand for
advice, with Lucy Brackpool providing a reassuring presence throughout.
She would count us in and also prompted us when there were ten and five minutes
of the session to go. The running clock on the top-right of the screen was also
incredibly useful in terms of scheduling. Keeping an eye on this, the questions from
the audience and directing the flow of the conversation proved to be
straightforward due to the well-designed control panel.
Another strength was the excellent group of experts that SBC had assembled, with
Robin Bennett, Alan Weinrib and Bryan Arumugam all offering their extensive and
individual expertise. The key for me was to let them share their insights, meaning
my role was to top and tail the discussion, as well as direct the conversation.
I could not have wished for a more supportive and knowledgeable set of panelists
for my first moderating session and they really put me at ease, meaning I gained in
confidence as the event progressed. My introduction may have been slightly shaky,
but I felt increasingly assured as the talk went on and, in the end, the time flew by.
The thought of moderating a panel for the first time has been nerve-wracking and
certainly I have had moments of doubt over the last few days. However, the iGaming industry as a whole, and SBC in particular, are incredibly supportive and so I would highly recommend giving it a go.
I would like to thank SBC once again – and Robin, Alan and Bryan too – and I look
forward to appearing in more panels in the future.
