iGaming tech leader Cristina Turbatu commends ICE Barcelona's vision for Hall 7

Cristina Turbatu prased ICE Barcelona's decision to form an Advisory Board

Cristina Turbatu, who has spent 14-years in iGaming technology leadership roles, including as CTO of Casumo, CTO of BeyondPlay and Head of Playtech's Innovation Lab, has commended the vision shown by ICE Barcelona in creating an Advisory Board to help shape the new Hall 7 at Fira Barcelona.

"The idea of getting technologists in a room to advise on what content and format would actually bring value to Hall 7 attendees is a real change in how this industry runs events" she stated. "The Advisory Board has been looking at audience types, having a lot of discussions about the format of each slot in the day, and asking at every point what actionable value someone actually walks away with."

Assessing the importance of the new dedicated tech section she noted: "ICE has historically been a commercial place to gather. What Hall 7 adds is somewhere you can see how companies are innovating, what broke along the way and how they fixed it, get advice on a problem that you're stuck on, and meet technical peers and technology partners from outside gambling.

"Having both the B2B and B2C perspective on the Advisory Board matters because those are the people who actually need this event to exist."

Technology plays a central role for any regulated online operator

Exploring the role that technology can play in delivering enhanced levels of player protection Cristina Turbatu believes that it was always central for any regulated online operator. She argued: "The difference today is that we can be proactive. We track behaviour continuously, the patterns are detected as they form rather than in a monthly report, and the alert reaches someone who can act on it while the player is still in the session. 

"It's very hard to argue that gambling is safe entertainment if your controls only catch up with someone after the damage is done. That speed is also what regulators respond to, because they can see the system working rather than being told that it exists."

The detailed, hands-on environment that's being curated will differentiate the Hall 7 experience.  "Practical discussions, examples and case-studies will bring more value than hours of panels that can only touch the surface of a topic" she stated.  "Panels stay general because the people on them can't be specific about their own companies, so you get the same broad answers about AI or data or cloud that you could have read anywhere. Watching something work, with the person who built it standing next to it, gives the audience a different level of detail.

"Most operators already know what the technology can do. What they haven't seen is it running with the compliance, the audit trail and the uptime expectations attached, and without that it sits on the maybe list for another year. Seeing it work somewhere comparable is usually what moves it into implementation."

"Bringing technical leaders into the heart of this fast-paced industry creates the ideal environment to learn and apply new ideas. Hall 7 will allow transformation managers to attend a session, meet the vendor on the floor, and discuss honest migration costs with peers. Success isn't about choosing the technology, it's about the sequencing, uptime, and team motivation which is shared by word of mouth at events such as ICE Barcelona."

To exhibit alongside brands including AWS, PayPal, Mastercard and Aircash or for more information on Hall 7 contact Margaret.dunn@worldgamingbusiness.com