Seth Palansky, the former head of communications for the World Series of Poker, has joined Conscious Gaming as the Vancouver-based company’s new vice president of corporate social responsibility and communications.
In September, Conscious Gaming, a philanthropic non-profit organization established by GeoComply, announced the creation of PlayPause, a multi-state digital self-exclusion tool for the gaming industry to support responsible gaming.
Last week, Conscious Gaming announced a partnership with GVC Holdings and BetMGM, to deploy the product across the sports betting platform’s network.
Palansky spent the past 12 years with Caesars Entertainment’s interactive division, which oversaw the annual World Series of Poker tournament in Las Vegas as well as the WSOP’s associate circuit events and European tournaments. He also helped Caesars interactive launch online poker in Nevada and igaming in New Jersey.
Conscious Gaming Trustee Anna Sainsbury, who is chairwoman of GeoComply, said adding Palansky to the new company’s team will help expand awareness of PlayPause and the non-profit’s efforts.
Conscious Gaming is offering its PlayPause technology tool to anyone in the industry interested in enhancing their responsible gaming program. The cross-operator solution for user identification was created to modernize and strengthen the effectiveness of the U.S. gaming industry’s responsible gaming programs.
“We believe the benefits of offering a technology-driven self-exclusion tool are critical for our industry to ensure we protect all stakeholders,” Sainsbury said in a statement. “We are excited to have Seth join us to front our adoption efforts and work with the industry.”
Prior to his work with Caesars, Palansky worked with the National Football League as one of the first employees of the NFL Network. He oversaw the network’s communication department. Before beginning work with the NFL, Palansky worked in corporate communications for Fox Sports with the company’s regional sports networks.
“This is an incredible opportunity to help rally the gaming and sports industries behind this very important initiative,” Palansky said. “Sports betting and igaming businesses are spreading rapidly throughout the U.S., and in order to ensure their longevity, it is imperative that all stakeholders have their responsible gaming initiatives accommodate the modern habits of those users they aim to protect.”
PlayPause features include:
- Self-exclusion protection as players move from state to state, rather than being limited to the state in which they are typically based.
- Adding additional data on players who have already self-excluded in one state but need to be recognized and protected for play in another jurisdiction.
- Added efficiency by eliminating the silos associated with maintaining numerous separate state-operated self-exclusion databases.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgaming.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
