In 2025, Tashina Lazcano was selected as one of the “40 Under 40” emerging leaders in the gaming sector. Global Gaming Business magazine and The Innovation Group (TIG) recognized her as an outstanding young professional with a significant impact on the casino industry.

Tashina actively promotes education and professional development for women in the gaming industry through her role as Vice President of Marketing, board member, executive committee member, and co-chair of the marketing committee at the non-profit organization Global Gaming Women (GGW).

What does International Women’s Day mean to you, and how can it inspire more women to join the gaming industry?
International Women’s Day carries strong significance for me and many others, because it’s a day when people around the world come together to support the advancement of women.

I’m especially inspired by the fact that International Women’s Day has been recognized for over 100 years, during which we’ve seen meaningful advancement for women across diverse cultures. We can create meaningful change when we join in a shared mission, and those advancements would not have occurred if individuals hadn’t come together in support of gender equality.

In the gaming industry, we’re fortunate to have an amazing non-profit organization called Global Gaming Women, which is dedicated to supporting, inspiring, and influencing the development of women. Anyone in the world can become a member and join for free online at globalgamingwomen.org. Members have access to free education opportunities, online resources, mentorship opportunities, and much more. This organization has had a big impact on me, and I see its impact in the lives of other women.

What are your key goals for 2026 in innovation, expansion, and female leadership?
My leadership philosophy is empowering others through information. I believe that when we provide teams with clear, timely, and thorough data, it fuels creativity to produce incredible results. For me, that is the bedrock for innovation and expansion. Konami is in the midst of great innovation and global expansion. Konami’s all-new Solstice machine is innovating the casino floor, voted the industry’s #1 Best New Core Cabinet and ranking the #1 Top Indexing Cabinet – Portrait Upright. Concurrently, Konami Online Interactive is expanding to new real-money markets for the first time, bringing player-favorite hits to more people and places.

What advice would you give young women aiming for leadership in gaming and betting?

Connect with mentors and find opportunities to mentor others. Mentors have given me critical visibility to areas of personal growth potential, and important tools to navigate tough situations. And becoming a mentor myself has helped me to better understand the factors that influence my success and the success of my employer, while honing my ability to lead and mentor teams.

Global Gaming Women has an amazing program that helps women in the gaming industry find and become mentors, called OneUpOneDown. There’s no cost; it’s totally online; and it offers plenty of tools to support success, for those who are new to mentorship.