A highly experienced lawyer with specializations in iGaming, cryptocurrency, payment regulation, licensing and M&A, after graduating from the University of Malta with an LLD, Simona Camilleri progressed to University College London, where she read for a Master of Laws (Commercial Law – LLM). Starting out in iGaming in 2004, she was one of the first lawyers working in Malta’s newly-regulated online gambling market.
She was headhunted by Scientific Games just prior to the UK Gambling Act coming into force, before moving back to Malta as Head of Legal for the Betclic Everest Group, comprising the Expekt, Betclic, EverestCasino and Everest Poker, and MonteCarloCasino brands. In 2016, Simona then co-founded a fully-licensed (MFSA) cryptocurrency company, and acted as Head of Legal to Booming Games as well, before moving on to Casumo as its Chief Legal Officer. Now, following a few months representing her first career break in 18 years, she works at Sportingtech as Chief Legal and Compliance, where she can reflect on the positive impact working with female C-levels and platforming entrepreneurs has had on her career satisfaction. She has had the pleasure of working with two female CEOs during her career at these companies.
VISION ON THE INDUSTRY
In the 19 years Simona has worked in the industry, iGaming has become increasingly regulated, which in turn has challenged many of the companies working within it. While she believes there is still a great deal of innovation and energy in the sector, there is also a lot of copying, as there is not sufficient protection in terms of legal remedies available.
“I understand some countries still have significant hurdles to overcome in order to grasp the huge opportunities available, manage fair and stable reporting in the media and achieve a balance between the need for oversight, regulation and fair taxation levels (including significant contributions towards social causes). On the other hand, this allows companies to create a good product and thrive within established and fair parameters,” she declares.
Camilleri has also observed women progressing into C-level positions, which she thinks is a move in the right direction. During COVID-19, she also witnessed companies being open to cater to female (and male) peers through the introduction of remote and hybrid working across the board. The added flexibility is often needed by women who are also carers, and helps them to progress their careers and pave the way for other women following in their footsteps.
PLATFORMING ENTREPRENEURS
“I’m really proud of continually looking to work with entrepreneurs,” she says. As a leader setting out the path for those following in her footsteps, she has championed creativity and originality in the sector, collaborating with people to push boundaries and create new products. Always developing and never stagnating are two of Simona’s career mantras, leaving her challenging herself to look into new fields and uses of technology within existing and new industries, as well as providing invaluable input on regulatory advances.
Looking back to the early days when she was often the only woman in the room, she explains: “In the land-based industry, every room was 10 guys to one woman. However, it was a fun, interesting and unexpected working environment where I was able to learn a lot from people I greatly admired. I’ve always worked with women who lift up other women.”
FLEXIBILITY AND TRAILBLAZING WOMEN
While equality has improved over those years and she doesn’t see the industry too far off achieving this, she still believes women are often held to a different (much tougher) standard across many areas of their lives. It can be the personal choices they are forced to make that lead to the perception they aren’t in such high positions, or that these positions are hard to maintain without coming also at huge cost personally.
Of course, Simona also considers there’s more that can be done. A lot of attention is being paid to not having male-only board members and she acknowledges when that isn’t the case, organizations can often be perceived as outdated and not great to work for. She applauds women in the workforce initiatives, such as ‘Women in Gaming’, improved networking opportunities and a clearer career trajectory with promotions and recognition for women’s unique skill sets and perspectives. Personally, she believes quotas aren’t the way to achieve this. Ultimately, flexibility is key and societal shifts away from harsh judgment of women who choose to be in business.
RESPONSIBLE GAMING
At the heart of Simona’s work is ensuring companies are compliant with all applicable regulations and she trusts a good relationship between operators and regulators is a key. “It’s essential not to view the gambling industry as one linear, unchangeable sector. There is a huge amount of responsible companies out there trying to do the right thing and it is important to recognize the efforts of many of these organizations,” she assures.
Despite this, she comments that some regulators are nascent and/or need more understanding of the industry: overly restrictive regulations risk sending more players to the black market. Within Europe, she is convinced that it would be very good to set gold standards which can apply across the EU market, as is the case with other industries and services.
MANAGING TIME EFFICIENTLY
About personal versus professional life balance, Camilleri shares: “In my case, I have realized that I need to be in an office environment where I am able to perform my work with the focus it requires, and to be present when I am home in my family life, and to try not to mix the two. I also manage this with a lot of support from family, helpers and colleagues, which are all absolutely brilliant.”
HOBBIES AND GOALS
She mentions her passions have always been music, dance, and travel. With the former two, she is just a spectator these days, but she often manages to attend live concerts, operas, or watch performances at home and abroad. Watching live sports, especially football and tennis, is also something she loves doing, and chilling out with her family and friends, and cooking for them is something she definitely enjoys a lot. Besides, she also dabbles in skiing, boxing, tennis, watersports and reading books when she has the time, especially history.
With the perspective focused on the future, Simona expresses: “Personally, I wish to have more time to get more involved in community activities and causes, and professionally, I hope to expand into areas of interest such as environmental law and planning (hot topic here in Malta!), for example.”
In one line
A book: “Little Women” (Louisa May Alcott, 1868)
A movie: “Amelie” (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001)
Favorite music: Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen
A fragrance: Songes, by Annick Goutal, an old favorite
A place to live: London (UK) + Malta
A place to go on vacations: Italy
A place for dining out: ‘Le Sirenuse’, in Positano, Italy
A meal: sea urchin (uni) pasta
A drink: Negroni, or a chilled fresh lemon juice
A sport: Finnish hobby horse championships
A teacher/mentor or main reference in your life: Oscar Wilde is a teacher; my mum is more of a main reference. A mentor is Ira Raphaelson, my old boss.
