NEXT.io Podcast

🎙 Podcast #94 with Pierre Lindh and Lyudmila Milenina, President & CEO at First Sports Media  

We have all seen the ongoing invasion of Ukraine across news and social media, and read the stories of people having to evacuate their homes, cities and country to escape. We have heard of colleagues within the industry that are caught in this conflict, and heard from companies that are working on ways to help their staff find safety and supplies. 

 We spoke with Lyudmila Milenina, CEO at First Sport Media. Lyudmila talks to us after having only left Ukraine 3 days before, recounting the challenges that faced being a citizen, a mother, and a leader through such unprecedented times. In her own words, Lyudmila tells us the brutal honesty of her experience, and her feelings during these times, and we honour that by sharing with you this unedited interview.  

ABOUT LYUDMILA:

Lyudmila started her career in Gambling sphere in 2015 as the Digital marketing manager in Parimatch Sports betting company. She quickly became the Team Lead and then - the Digital Head of the DC (Digital Chain) agency, which provided worldwide services of Business Intelligence, Strategy, Creative, Digital, Media, Communications, and own global Affiliate Program. This agency provided marketing services for the various number of gambling clients, as well as Parimatch. Under her guidance, Opinion leaders and Video content projects as one of Acquisition channels were developed as well as Mobile App Acquisition was set up from scratch to production.  

  In 2020 Lyudmila became the CEO of the First Sport Media - an international sports traffic advertising network, part of the First Sport Group. This platform combines the publishers with unique and on-demand sports content. These are live scores, sport news, match reports, stats, predictions, and other engaging content for sport fans. FSM connects brands with the right audience by offering complex advertising solutions. 

 Lyudmila as the CEO of FSM is responsible for business development and P&L. Key professional strengths: traffic acquisition, affiliate marketing, clients accounting, adtech technologies, digital analytics & tracking.  

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This episode of the iGaming NEXT Podcast is hosted by Pierre Lindh, MD/Co-Founder at iGaming NEXT and is brought to you by:  

Pragmatic Solutions. – Leading iGaming platform technology. 

For more info, click here: http://pragmatic.solutions 

Sponsored by:

Pragmatic Play: https://www.pragmaticplay.com

Fast Track- https://www.fasttrack-solutions.com

Playson: https://playson.com/

Bombay Group: https://yolo.io/companies/bombay-club/

🎙 Podcast #93 with Pierre Lindh and Paul Burns, President & CEO at Canadian Gaming Association  

This week on Monday 4th April, we saw the launch of Online Sports Betting and iGaming in the state of Ontario, Canada! President and CEO of the Canadian Gaming Association, Paul Burns, sat down with Pierre Lindh to discuss the launch. This is an exciting time for the future of the Canadian markets that will be wrought with great rises, but also with challenges. 

 Will we see similar results as earlier in the year with New York? Listen in as Paul tells us what we can expect in the times to come.

ABOUT PAUL BURNS: 

Paul Burns was instrumental in establishing the Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) in 2005, recognizing the need for a unified voice for the gaming industry in Canada. Under his leadership as the CGA’s Vice President, the association grew to include the industry’s leading operators, manufacturers, and supplier’s nation-wide. Mr. Burns was appointed the CGA’s President & CEO in March 2018.  

He has been responsible for the development of industry-wide research and programs, including the release of the most comprehensive study on the economic impact of gaming in Canada, and the expansion of the industry’s national annual conference, the Canadian Gaming Summit.

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This episode of the iGaming NEXT Podcast is hosted by Pierre Lindh, MD/Co-Founder at iGaming NEXT and is brought to you by: 

 Pragmatic Solutions. – Leading iGaming platform technology.

 For more info, click here: http://pragmatic.solutions 

Sponsored by: 

Pragmatic Play: https://www.pragmaticplay.com

Fast Track- https://www.fasttrack-solutions.com

Playson: https://playson.com/

Bombay Group: https://yolo.io/companies/bombay-club/

Morgan Stanley gaming analyst Thomas Allen joins iGaming NEXT co-founder and MD, Pierre Lindh, to discuss the future of iGaming and sports betting investment in the burgeoning United States market.  

Managing Director Thomas Allen sets out why he believes that the current share prices of publicly listed gambling firms in the US do not reflect their value in the mid- to long-term, as he expects the market to turn to profit by 2025. 

The pair discuss the challenges faced so far by operators in the market – and how they will be mitigated moving forward, allowing the market to turn to profit and investments in the sector to pay off.

ABOUT THOMAS ALLEN:

 Thomas Allen is a Managing Director and has headed US Gaming, Lodging & Leisure research since 2013. He is a top 3 ranked analyst and has also received 4 or 5 out of 5 stars from Starmine for stock-picking in 3 of the past 4 years. He covered Gaming & Lodging from 2006 to 2009 as part of Celeste Brown's No. 2- ranked team. Thomas then covered Diversified Financials before becoming a lead analyst covering Business Services companies. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley in 2006, he worked in capital markets at Bank of America. Thomas has a BA in Economics from University of Pennsylvania.

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This episode of the iGaming NEXT podcast is hosted by Pierre Lindh, MD/Co-Founder at iGaming NEXT and is brought to you by:  

Pragmatic Solutions. – Leading iGaming platform technology. For more info, click here: http://pragmatic.solutions 

Sponsored by: 

Pragmatic Play - https://www.pragmaticplay.com 

 Fast Track: https://www.fasttrack-solutions.com

🎙 Podcast #91 with Pierre Lindh and Stefan Kovach, CEO at Rarer Things  

Stefan Kovach once again joins Pierre Lindh to discuss the growing Metaverse, the changing trends of crypto currency vs fiat, NFTs and how the web3 paradigm shift affects us all.

ABOUT STEFAN KOVACH:  

Stefan Kovach has been working for internet startups since the late 90s and has worked in the gambling industry for over 15 years, including at PokerStars and Bwin.Party.  He got involved with blockchain technology in 2017 when he became CEO of FunFair Technologies, a first-generation Ethereum gambling dapp.  Since then he has gone on to create RarerThings an independent web 3 advisory that focuses on gaming, sport, fashion and celebrities.

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This episode of the iGaming NEXT Podcast is hosted by Pierre Lindh, MD/Co-Founder at iGaming NEXT and is brought to you by: 

 Pragmatic Solutions. – Leading iGaming platform technology. 

For more info, click here: http://pragmatic.solutions 

Sponsored by:

 Pragmatic Play - https://www.pragmaticplay.com

Fast Track: https://www.fasttrack-solutions.com

Yolo Group: https://yolo.com

🎙 Podcast #90 with Pierre Lindh and Martin Lycka, SVP for American Regulatory Affairs and Responsible Gambling at Entain  

Earlier in February, Martin Lycka joined Pierre Lindh to discuss the growing US market, which states may be next to join the world of online sports betting, and how the success of sportsbook could pave the way for online casino.

ABOUT MARTIN LYCKA:  

Martin Lycka is SVP for American Regulatory Affairs and Responsible Gambling at Entain, overseeing growth of the business across both new U.S. states and into other parts of the Americas, notably LATAM and Canada. He joined the business in April 2018, as Director of Regulatory Affairs.  

Martin also serves on the boards of the Entain Foundation, the Entain Foundation US, the German Online Casino Association and the Advisory Boards to the National Council on Problem Gambling as well as RG247, a responsible gaming training provider.  

Martin is a regular conference speaker and has (co-)authored more than 80 academic articles and three books on gambling law and other legal matters. He is the 2019 Global Regulatory Awards Head of Regulatory Affairs of the Year as well as a member of the2020/2021 Emerging Gambling Leaders 40 Under 40 Class (a Judge’s Choice).

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This episode of the iGaming NEXT Podcast is hosted by Pierre Lindh, MD/Co-Founder at iGaming NEXT and is brought to you by: 

 Pragmatic Solutions – Leading iGaming platform technology  

For more info, click here: http://pragmatic.solutions   

Sponsored by:  

Pragmatic Play - https://www.pragmaticplay.com  

Fast Track: https://www.fasttrack-solutions.com  

Yolo Group: https://yolo.com

🎙 Podcast with Heidi Lofthus and David Näsström  

Heidi Lofthus and David Näsström, co-owner at Refapp, discusses old versus new trends in how references are taken during the recruitment period; how phone calls are outdated, stressing and time costly. Digital solutions continue improving the experience for everyone involved. They also touch upon how reference checking does also come with ethical challenges and the taboo around “backdoor reference taking”.

ABOUT DAVID NÄSSTRÖM:

 After 10+ years experience of recruiting and responsible for the recruitment process for the largest staffing company in Sweden David wanted to develop the process step that was the most in-efficient - reference checking. Refapp has during the last 4 years disrupted this process step and now digital reference checks are common in Sweden and Norway. After opening a sales office in Dublin last spring Refapp now is represented in 19 countries with aprox 600 customers.

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 This episode of the iGaming NEXT Podcast is hosted by Heidi Lofthus, Project Director at iGaming NEXT and brought to you by:  

Pragmatic Solutions. – Leading iGaming platform technology. 

For more info, click here: http://pragmatic.solutions

 Sponsored by: 

Pragmatic Play - https://www.pragmaticplay.com

Fast Track: https://www.fasttrack-solutions.com

Yolo Group: https://yolo.com

🎙 Podcast #88 with Pierre Lindh and Paul Leyland, Partner at Regulus Partners 

 On Friday 18/02/22, DraftKings released their Q4 report for 2021. Paul Leyland joined Pierre Lindh in a livestream to analyse the report. If you missed it, you can catch it again now

ABOUT PAUL LEYLAND:  

Paul advises on economic, financial and business models in gambling and related sectors, with a focus on regulatory change. He has considerable financial analysis and M&A experience in financial services, industry and as a consultant. Prior to co-founding Regulus in 2013, Paul was Corporate Development Director at William Hill, where he as active in developing an omnichannel strategy, building more effective stakeholder relations and advising on M&A. Between 2000 and 2011, Paul was one of the first Equity Analysts to cover the online gambling sector pre-UIGEA and went on to specialise in the online, retail and supply-chain sectors with global coverage.

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This episode of the iGaming NEXT Podcast is brought to you by: 

 Pragmatic Solutions – Leading iGaming platform technology  

For more info, click here: http://pragmatic.solutions   

Sponsored by:  

Pragmatic Play - https://www.pragmaticplay.com  

Fast Track: https://www.fasttrack-solutions.com  

Yolo Group: https://yolo.com

🎙 Podcast with Heidi Lofthus and Karl Grech

Karl Grech talks to our Heidi Lofthus about what drives motivation and how you can use “wasted time” for something good. Emotional Intelligence focus is on the agenda in many organizations and one way to highlight the various mindsets in a team is by introducing the Lego Serious Play design to optimize brainstorming.

ABOUT KARL GRECH: 

As a performance coach, Karl helps mid to senior leaders enhance how they inspire, motivate and engage their team. He thrives by supporting individuals to gain confidence in their leadership role, develop habits to manage stress and bounce back from challenging situations, to achieve professional and personal success! 

 Karl’s coaching style can be described as collaborative, practical, challenging and genuine. He has earned an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) award with the International Coaching Federation (ICF), certified in PRISM brain-mapping, and Genos Emotional Intelligence assessments. Graduated with a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) in Management Consulting with the Grenoble Graduate School of Business. 

 Karl has also achieved a diploma in Coaching & Mentoring.  When he is not working, Karl can be found enjoying spending time with his family, running, circuit training, and embracing traffic as an opportunity to listen to podcasts.

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This episode of the iGaming NEXT Podcast is brought to you by:  

Pragmatic Solutions – Leading iGaming platform technology  

For more info, click here: http://pragmatic.solutions  

 Sponsored by:  

Pragmatic Play - https://www.pragmaticplay.com  

Fast Track: https://www.fasttrack-solutions.com 

 Yolo Group: https://yolo.com

🎙 Podcast  #89 with Pierre Lindh, Rory Credland and Sam Milliken 

 We are thrilled to welcome our new Event Director, Sam Milliken who is joining iGaming NEXT. In this podcast, we explore how our habits have changed forever due to the pandemic, and how that has affected the conference industry. We also talk about what the future holds for iGaming NEXT!

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This episode of the iGaming NEXT Podcast is brought to you by:

Pragmatic Solutions – Leading iGaming platform technology

For more info, click here: http://pragmatic.solutions

Sponsored by:

Pragmatic Play - https://www.pragmaticplay.com

Fast Track: https://www.fasttrack-solutions.com

Yolo Group: https://yolo.com

🎙In this episode Karolina talks to Michael Brady, Founder Director of Eyas Gaming about his journey in gaming over the past 22 years, on founding and scaling Bede Gaming and the recent sale of a majority stake to the Gauselmann Group. They discuss the key factors for success for a company with ambitions to become the First Choice Platform to enable Operators to maximise their offering.

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This episode of the iGaming NEXT Podcast is hosted by Karolina Pelc, Founder and CEO at BeyondPlay and brought to you by:

Pragmatic Solutions – Leading iGaming platform technology

For more info, click here: http://pragmatic.solutions

Sponsored by:

Pragmatic Play - https://www.pragmaticplay.com

Fast Track: https://www.fasttrack-solutions.com

Yolo Group: https://yolo.com