Maris Catania currently occupies the role of Head of Responsible Gaming and Research at Kindred. She started as a Risk and Fraud Analyst with Kindred and after receiving her Psychology MSc from the University of Leicester, took on the role of Responsible Gaming Manager. She has a Diploma in Gambling Addiction Counselling and Psychology, and is now reading for her PhD under the supervision of Prof. Mark Griffiths, focusing primarily on the analysis of the early signs of online problem gambling, responsible gaming tools and responsible gaming promotion.

Whilst recapitulating research for her role, she has started an innovative detection tool with Kindred, known as PS-EDS (Player Safety – Early Detection System). This has shown an impressive advantage in the company both from a commercial perspective and also internally addressing Corporate Social Responsibility. This same PS-EDS has won the EGr Innovation of the Year award in 2014. The current RG approach within Kindred has also won several industry awards including in 2017 GIA Socially Responsible Operator of the Year, Global Regulatory Awards and Women in Gaming awards in 2017. Maris has also been awarded the Gambling Compliance Most Significant Contribution to Responsible Gambling Research for three consecutive years.

Jean is a Peer Aid Co-ordinator with Betknowmore UK and now supports individuals who have been affected by gambling harm.

Jean started gambling at bingo halls playing slots machine which very quickly moved into online gambling on slots. Her behaviour became very out of character during this time – making up stories that she needed money whilst instead she continued to gamble.

Jean soon became isolated from friends and family and as a woman felt a lot of shame and stigma through her gambling, that and the time lost with loved ones and losing her identity were for her, the most tragic parts of gambling harm.

I am a former betting shop manager, for both ladbrokes and corals. I also have been a professional sports bettor and poker player with over 40 years’ experience in the gambling industry.

I am also a recovering addict of the fixed odds betting terminals {FOBT} where sadly I lost huge sums of money and I campaigned with many others for change in the stakes of these machines based in betting shops on the high street.

I am not anti-gambling as I believe when done in a safe environment it has its place in society, but I do expect operators and banks to help gamblers more, especially when early red flags have been raised by excessive gameplay.

I am also the co-founder of Don’t bet YOUR LIFE on it [DBYLOI.COM] which is a lived experience website full of help, support, advice and coping mechanisms for any gambler who feels that they are developing issues with their  own gambling.

The toolbox in particular has been given high praise by many for its authentic and honest way of explaining how to stop things from getting out of control and is suitable for anybody with any sort of gambling problem.

Dr. Kasra Ghaharian is Senior Research Fellow at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, International Gaming Institute. Dr. Ghaharian received his Ph.D. and MSc from UNLV’s William F. Harrah College of Hospitality in 2022. His research interests center around data science and artificial intelligence (AI) applications in the gambling field. His dissertation research explored the implications of payment modernization for the gambling industry; specifically, he conducted behavioral analysis of gamblers’ payments transaction data using machine learning to identify and characterize potential markers of harm. Dr. Ghaharian is currently conducting research that explores the ethical considerations and risks associated with AI in the gambling industry. His work has been published across leading academic journals in computer science, technology, psychology, hospitality, and gambling. He is also Executive Editor for the UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal, a leading academic journal in the gambling field. Prior to his Ph.D., Dr. Ghaharian worked in the Hospitality and Gambling industry for over seven years, leading online and digital efforts for two of the largest casino-hotel companies in the world.

Daniel Brookes is the founder of Rdentify, an AI technology business that specialises in identifying signs of customer vulnerability and enhancing intervention strategies. He has a wealth of experience in operations, compliance, and commercial decision-making, having worked for many years in senior strategic roles with Egaming and the technology sector. He is known for enhancing business performances through the infusion of innovation and technology.

Maris Catania currently occupies the role of Head of Responsible Gaming and Research at Kindred. She started as a Risk and Fraud Analyst with Kindred and after receiving her Psychology MSc from the University of Leicester, took on the role of Responsible Gaming Manager. She has a Diploma in Gambling Addiction Counselling and Psychology, and is now reading for her PhD under the supervision of Prof. Mark Griffiths, focusing primarily on the analysis of the early signs of online problem gambling, responsible gaming tools and responsible gaming promotion.

Whilst recapitulating research for her role, she has started an innovative detection tool with Kindred, known as PS-EDS (Player Safety – Early Detection System). This has shown an impressive advantage in the company both from a commercial perspective and also internally addressing Corporate Social Responsibility. This same PS-EDS has won the EGr Innovation of the Year award in 2014. The current RG approach within Kindred has also won several industry awards including in 2017 GIA Socially Responsible Operator of the Year, Global Regulatory Awards and Women in Gaming awards in 2017. Maris has also been awarded the Gambling Compliance Most Significant Contribution to Responsible Gambling Research for three consecutive years.

Tom is Head of Corporate Affairs UK/Global at Kindred Group, working with stakeholders across the sector and beyond to build partnerships and promote Kindred’s role in creating a more sustainable industry. Prior to joining Kindred Group, Tom spent almost a decade working in the UK political sector- for a leading policy and research agency and some of the UK’s biggest elections campaigns- including the General Election in 2010 and 2015, as well as the 2016 EU Referendum.

Matt Zarb-Cousin is a co-founder of Gamban, director of Clean Up Gambling and senior government affairs advisor to YieldSec. As spokesperson for the Campaign for Fairer Gambling (CFG), he lobbied successfully for a reduction in the maximum stake on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals from £100 to £2 a spin. CFG has recently relaunched with a focus on policy reform in the US.

Over the past decade Adam has advised across a wide range of regulatory and strategic issues for both private sector clients and regulators. His work in the sector has included regulatory and fiscal strategy, regulatory compliance, demand estimation, market size estimation, merger assessment (both due diligence and merger control), game design and risk simulation, and insight to inform regulatory policy. Adam is a regular publisher of sector thought leadership as well as a speaker, chair and panellist at international gambling conferences.

Chris Bonnello is an autistic advocate, award-winning writer and international speaker, also a novelist and a former teacher (mainstream primary and special education). In 2015 he launched Autistic Not Weird to share his insights from both a personal and professional perspective, a venture which has seen him attract over 170,000 Facebook followers and over 3 million page hits on his website (autisticnotweird.com), as well as speaking engagements as far away as India and Sydney Opera House. He was shortlisted for the 2023 Speaker Awards (Sustainability and Positive Impact Speaker of the Year) and for the 2017 National Diversity Awards (Positive Role Model for Disability), is a two-time winner at the Autism Hero Awards (Top Journalist 2017, Online Social Community 2018) and won the National Autistic Society Professionals Award for Outstanding Achievement by an Individual on the Autism Spectrum in 2019.

As Director of Safer Gambling, Dan Spencer heads up EPIC Risk Management’s professional services offering to the gambling industry. Providing consultation and training to the world’s most successful and progressive operators, regulators and suppliers, Dan brings his own lived experience of gambling related harm as well as an extensive career in developmental training and compliance.  Dan and his team have worked across 28 countries being recognised for their work in Safer Gambling winning multiple awards for services to Player Protection.

Vasiliki has been working for the online gambling sector for 7 years. She provides policy and legal advice, public affairs strategies, while she also manages sectoral projects on safer gambling, advertising and standardization. Vasiliki is lawyer with a Μaster’s degree in European Law from Maastricht University. She has a strong background on the European digital single market, while she is also passionate for technology and arts.

Vasiliki has been working for the online gambling sector for 7 years. She provides policy and legal advice, public affairs strategies, while she also manages sectoral projects on safer gambling, advertising and standardization. Vasiliki is lawyer with a Μaster’s degree in European Law from Maastricht University. She has a strong background on the European digital single market, while she is also passionate for technology and arts.

Rob joined Better Change from the charity Gordon Moody where he spent 5 years running their international gambling helpline “Gambling Therapy” as well as helping to raise their profile and ensure sufficient treatment spaces were available in their residential treatment centres to meet demand. With over 12 years industry experience, including being a previous winner of the Racing Post and SiS Betting Shop Manager of the Year award, Rob brings a unique insight into the prevention and treatment of gambling harm and is keen to focus his efforts further upstream as we aim to prevent against gambling harm at Better Change through Positive Play.

Vincent Perrotin is Sustainability and Responsible Gaming Director for the FDJ Group since 2018 and member of the Group Management Committee. He joined FDJ in 2015 as chief of staff to FDJ’s CEO, Stephane Pallez. He started his career at the French Ministry of economy and finance where he served between 2010 et 2015 and where he was notably in charge of corporate governance and CSR issues. He is also a member of the French High Council on the equality between women and men since 2022.

Ben Wade is Head of Gaming at TransUnion and is responsible for the leadership and growth of the sector for the CRA. TransUnion have been the leading provider of responsible gambling solutions since 2019 and leverage their data, software and cutting-edge analytics to identify and protect financially vulnerable players, and subsequently reduce the risk of gambling harm. They also support Gaming operators in the areas of KYC, AML and provide controls to better protect their businesses against fraud. Ben is passionate about player protection and is consistently looking to find new ways to identify, assess and protect the most vulnerable.

Jeremy Lever is Head of Gaming at Armalytix, an established data intelligence firm that enables gambling operators to streamline their player risk journeys with minimal impact to the operator and the player through our proprietary Open banking solution. He has worked in the iGaming sector for the last 8+ years bringing innovative RegTech solutions to the largest and fastest growing iGaming operators. His experience spans across the entire customer compliance journey from KYC, RG, Affordability, AML and EDD checks for higher spending customers for operators like William Hill, 888, Entain, MidNite, Jumpman Gaming, etc.