Alex Dixon subverted the usual format of educational sessions at the Global Gaming Expo. Instead of speaking from the dais Tuesday with fellow panelists Julie Hakman and Stephen Jurgella, the CEO and President of Q Casino in Dubuque, Iowa, engaged the audience to participate during the “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Creating a Culture, Not Just a Program” presentation.
“I know we’ve got some perspectives,” Dixon said. “We have the mic, but I want to hear directly from you all.”
Gradually, people shared equity and inclusion stories. Kim Barker Lee, IGT’s Vice President of Diversity & Inclusion, said the company is addressing the issue in a holistic way through diversity and inclusion groups.
Rush Street Interactive Director of Corporate Social Responsibility Tammi Barlow spoke about the company’s outreach to people with gambling problems.
Alli Rubin, product manager for XPoint, noted that studies indicate “the more diverse your workforce is, the more successful you are financially.”
Lindsay Goldner, formerly the marketing communications director of the Chicago Red Stars in the NWSL, said she would like to see more opportunities to bet on women’s sports.
But the moment that stunned the audience came from Kristy Lalley, a human-resources manager with BetMGM. Lalley, her voice close to breaking, mentioned a fireside chat the company hosted during which employees were encouraged to share stories and concerns. “I learned a lot about my team that day,” Lalley said. “Maybe that’s something other companies can do.”
Dixon’s gambit worked, because he was proactive in encouraging audience members to share their thoughts, not to be afraid to speak out, to recognize that they were in a place where they shouldn’t fear repercussions over their identities.
“To be quite frank, this topic could have been done at any point within the last 30 years,” Dixon said. “Other industries are moving farther and faster than we are. We’re still at this primordial-soup kind of culture creating and we have to move forward faster.”
Hakman, founder of background screening company AmericanChecked, shared her experiences about coming out as gay and how her life improved once she did.
“I know that being open and candid and creating an environment is so important,” Hakman said. “I’ve truly come to know that at the end of the day, it’s all about people. It about making connections and if we’re open and honest with one another, we can make those connections.
Jurgella, CEO and founder of Fountain Forward, a marketing firm, said that mental-health issues need to be addressed proactively, noting that “five in five people experience stress, trauma, and challenges. More than anything, I’m challenging corporations,” Jurgella said. “If you’re going to talk about it, if you really want to champion mental health, and you care so much, why is the transparency of the C-suite level so low? Fifty-six percent of employees believe that the C-suite cares about their mental health and 91% of the suite believes that their employees think that they care about their mental health. There’s a little bit of an issue in the numbers.”
Noting that he’s a Las Vegas native, Dixon stated that more than 50% of students in the Clark County School District are Hispanic. It’s incumbent upon the gaming industry, Dixon believes, not only how to figure out how to employ these students as they enter the workforce, but also to create meaningful career opportunities.
“We’ve got to create pipelines of diverse talent — meaning women, people of color, people with different abilities, diversity — every step of the way,” Dixon said.