When the Global iGaming Summit & Expo convenes this week in Miami, Salim Adatia expects sports betting to be a major focus. Two weeks ago, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down federal law and paved the way for the activity to be legalized by individual states.
The ruling opened new opportunities for Gaming Laboratories International (GLI).
Still, GLI Vice President of iGaming Salim Adatia said the company’s sports betting and consultancy team has been on the playing field for decades, providing jurisdictions with the game plan needed for success in this global sports-betting arena.
The justices struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) on May 14 and paved the way for business opportunities related to legal sports betting in the U.S. GLI President/CEO James Maida called it a watershed moment in the history of sports wagering.
GLI has been providing feedback on sports and event wagering technical standards to governments around the world for decades. The company has an independent sports betting testing and certification lab. Adatia said it’s time for GLI to leverage everything in the company’s toolbox to facilitate faster time-to-market for those looking to execute the same results in the U.S.
“The rush is now on,” Adatia said. “Stakeholders who have been waiting for this day will benefit from engaging a lab with the most sports betting evaluation experience, technical competencies, and regulatory knowledge to best position themselves for success. This is not new to us. We want to share that expertise and knowledge that we have gained over many years with the people that are now ripe to take care of the opportunities that are within the U.S.”
Adatia said GLI uses its extensive resources, expertise, proprietary technology, and designed systems to offer a one-stop-shop for regulatory/technical requirements consultancy, sports-betting platform and application testing, and security auditing, including penetration testing, vulnerability analysis, and threat and risk assessments.
GLI can use its sports-betting expertise to help prepare legislators and regulators of sovereign tribal nations, aspiring sports betting operators, software suppliers, and U.S. states to effectively implement and regulate legal betting on sports across the nation, he added.
GLI has a team of more than 75 dedicated to technical compliance, regulatory service and supplier services. It has dealt with sports event wagering across global markets in Australia, Europe, Africa, Latin America, Canada, and in Nevada with experts across various elements, including betting integrity systems, IBIS, and geolocation.
It was important, Adatia said, for GLI to have a booth (No. 24) at this year’s combined GiGse and Juegos Miami shows.
“We know there will be significant demands for discussions with GLI, especially given the recent Supreme Court ruling,” Adatia said. “We also would like to have a home base to give people a comfortable place to have discussions and engage with GLI experts, so they will better succeed at whatever they want to talk about.”
GLI will have its vice president of global client services and director of Latin America and Caribbean government relations, in addition to Latin American business development staff, at the combined shows.
“There will be GLI experts and geographic experts, so we can talk about areas of gaming to both GiGse and Juegos Miami,” Adatia. “It’s always important to attend this event. There are regulators, software suppliers and vendors that routinely want to speak with GLI about existing forms of gaming and what is coming down the line. And this year is especially important because of the repeal of PASPA. That is going to be front and center of a lot of people’s minds to discuss how they can capitalize on opportunities for sports betting in the U.S.”
