When the second annual Live Gaming Summit takes place in Barcelona on April 26, a key theme will be diversity in gaming and specifically the role of women in live gaming.

Diversity in gaming came to the fore at ICE Totally Gaming in London in February, with comments from the outgoing CEO of the UK Gambling Commission, Sarah Harrison.

“Organisations that prioritise diversity and inclusion gain a higher market share and have
a competitive edge in accessing new markets,” said Harrison. “If you are not attracting women to your business then you need to think about why that is, because any idea that women are simply not interested in gambling is a not the case.”

She also strongly criticised the presence of promo girls at the event who have been, in Harrison’s words, expected to wear “nothing more than swimsuits”.

The live gaming sector has long relied on female dealers and croupiers in often daring outfits to attract a predominantly male audience.

“I know that a large proportion of players care much more about the pace of the dealing
and the quality of the stream, as well as solid customer service, than the pretty girl at the
table,” said Karolina Pelc, casino director at LeoVegas.

“Making live casino about the experience and not the depth of the dealer’s cleavage –
something which you can already see with leading providers – is therefore the way forward
for everyone.”

Pelc will be one of the featured speakers at the upcoming summit, where she will also unveil a new project to promote diversity among live casino dealers. She joins, among others, Kfir Kugler, CEO of Ezugi; Kevin Kilminster, head of live casino innovation at Playtech; Tom de Bruijn, head of live at Kindred Group; and Rob Wheeler, commercial director at Medialive Casino.

The 2018 Live Gaming Summit takes place inside Casino Barcelona, underneath the Ritz
Carlton Hotel Arts with post-conference networking drinks and dinner at the exclusive Club Catwalk.

For more information, check out the event website or contact Willem van Oort at
[email protected].