“Find yourself the right environment where the majority of what you do is enjoyable,” says Aiste Garnevicience, COO at BetGames.TV, who triumphed in the ‘Leader of the Year’ category at the SBC Awards earlier this month in a double triumph for the firm.
Coming in alongside the firm’s Live Casino Supplier gong, Garneviciene was full of praise for the firm’s roster of employees as she elaborated on the unexpected nature of the award.
“I’m still trying to understand what happened, but I can definitely say it is so inspiring!” she says. “It was certainly unexpected, yet much appreciated at the same time – who doesn’t want an award like this? The nomination was huge recognition in itself and I consider it an honour and a personal achievement just to be shortlisted alongside so many successful (and male only!) gambling veterans.
“I definitely see the award as an immeasurable acknowledgement of the dedication and effort I pour into my work. I know many people include awards of this stature in their lists of accomplishments they’d like to make during their career, and I like to think that I have received mine by simply doing what comes naturally, simply being myself and focusing on what I enjoy most, rather than chasing the recognition.
“So again, it’s testament to the high standards I set for myself, and I think this illustrates that one of the key drivers for success is, in fact, quite a simple one – find yourself the right environment where the majority of what you do is enjoyable!
“All that said, however, receiving such accolades are made incredibly easier when you’re surrounded by such a wonderfully talented team. It’s their work ethic too that resulted in this, and this win is definitely our entire team’s effort and not down to just me as an individual.”
“It’s also undeniable that 2020 created a new reality, challenging us with an accelerated need for change”
Garneviciene becomes the first participant in a series of CasinoBeats articles alongside a selection of winners from this month’s SBC Awards, which are to be published across the holiday season.
Held at Stamford Bridge to a small audience of select individuals, hundreds more tuned in virtually as Garneviciene became one of two ‘Leader of the Year’ winners, alongside Sergey Portnov, CEO of Parimatch.
Following the win, at the end of a challenging year for many worldwide, Garneviciene touches upon lessons learned both professionally and personally: “Yes, 2020 turned out to be a horrible guest with so much disruption and turbulence,” it was added. “At the same time, it also taught many of us some important lessons: it forced us to open our eyes, in order to see that changes that we might previously have believed would take years to complete, actually occurred in months, weeks or even days.
“It helped us realise that things we once thought impossible are not quite so. I think all of us had opportunities to push ourselves to achieve much more than we thought we were capable of.
“It’s also undeniable that 2020 created a new reality, challenging us with an accelerated need for change. Now we are seeing evolution happening more rapidly, more frequently and with no limitations location-wise – which means we needed to adapt fast.
“The importance of teamwork was also magnified, becoming an even more important element than it already was, because when factors conspire against you, you have to be able to rely on the good people around you. Change is certainly not a single-player game.
“…I’m longing for a pandemic-free world with no travel restrictions”
“On a more personal level, I would also say that I’ve learned that I really don’t enjoy working remotely 100 per cent of the time. I’m much more a fan of a good balance between the office and home – and I very much look forward to working alongside the team again, which hopefully we’ll see happen in 2021.”
Amid the numerous challenges, BetGames.TV has gone from strength to strength, with numerous distribution deals inked on a consistent basis, as well as a huge uplift being experienced in the face of global sporting cancellations and postponements.
Garneviene moved on to address how the firm has dealt with the challenges, and their strategy for success in the face of such unexpected developments: “It couldn’t have happened without the dedication and determination of all the individual teams at BetGames.TV.
“The gratitude and appreciation we have received from our clients for being an extremely valuable partner in the recent challenging months has been pleasing too, on the back of our live dealer content being one of the true-use cases of cross-selling into casino from sportsbook.
“Across LatAm, Africa and Europe, we have proven ourselves invaluable in plugging the gap in revenues left by the cancellation of live sporting fixtures – and we will be dedicated to making sure we continue to be the industry’s most reliable pandemic-proof partner.”
To conclude, as we edge ever closer to confining 2020 to the history books, Garneviciene looked at what she is most looking forward to during the next 12 months: “Apart from seeing the back of 2020?! Well, in no particular order, I’m longing for a pandemic-free world with no travel restrictions, which will mean I can go on a proper vacation in a sunny paradise!
“Carefree hugs will be amazing, when they eventually happen, along with a social life without using remote communication tools. I’m excited about the Tokyo Olympics too – and I’m sure team Lithuania will do of us proud.
“It also goes without saying that I’m very much looking forward presenting yet more exciting content from BetGames.TV to the industry. We understand that entertainment needs to be unique – and we know that by working harder and closer with our clients, the results and benefits can be huge. We’re here to keep delivering in the year ahead and we look forward to seeing you all there!”
