p. 20 40under40:Layout 1 10/12/19 11:14 AM Page 26

2019 Emerging Leaders

40 UNDER 40 Location, Location, Location Lindsay Slader Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, GeoComply indsay Slader was always obsessed with maps. Family members and friends deferred to her sense of geography in staking out vacation activities. The 34-year-old Vancouver native loves travel and knows more about United States capitals than most Americans. How fitting for her to find GeoComply, become its vice president of regulatory affairs and help gaming regulators, operators and licensees navigate the Wire Act. Compliance status gains enormous significance with more states obtaining sports-betting legalization. “This is an exciting time for the gaming industry, with sports betting in the age of the post-PASPA repeal spreading like wildfire,” Slader says. “It is wonderful to be involved in that evolution. Educating all stakeholders in the online gaming betting world, and showing how geolocation technology influences their markets, is going to be continually important. “Given that there are still many states ready to introduce sports betting, my work will be providing education and expertise on how geolocation technology will impact their introduction of it. I testify at state hearings telling a particular state how geolocation technology works for them, giving them a demo.” Her testimonies have been eye-opening presentations. They address elected officials, often at the request of a lawmaker, operator or regulator who knows geolocation’s role to ensure legal betting takes place. Stakeholders want to evaluate the viability of sports betting, potential revenue and regulatory framework. GeoComply is an approved vendor in New Jersey, Nevada, Delaware, Mississippi, West Virginia, Oregon, Rhode Island, Georgia, New Hampshire, Virginia, Michigan, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Iowa and Indiana. The border of New York and New Jersey provides an illuminating snapshot of Slader’s role in the emerging sports-betting world. New York legislators asked her to demonstrate the workings of geolocation last spring. You could have seen a pin drop. One at a time. Slader unfurled a pin-drop map, illustrating the second-by-second attempted wagers being made from New York, where online betting is not legal, to New Jersey, where it is. GeoComply technology was blocking the attempted wagers. Legislators were surprised to discover how many players near the border were wagering. Translation: This is available future revenue for our state. “When GeoComply’s live ‘pin-drop map’ of New Jersey is demo’d to a legislature, that picture is worth a thousand words,” Slader says. “For the live map of New Jersey sports betting traffic, the mass volumes hugging the New York borders are as clear as day for anyone watching. “When I go to a hearing, I typically provide a non-technical ‘Geo 101’ crash course to start, and relish the moment when I can flip to the live map; lawmakers open their mouths with an ‘Ahh!’ and you see it all come together in their minds right in front of you. I consider this quite an accomplishment—explaining tech to elected officials is no easy feat!” Slader says the technology extends to other uses, including help for law enforcement to pinpoint the location of someone who attempts a financial crime. The next growth period figures to be prosperous for Slader, who loves maps so much that she’s prepared an Atlas for the gaming world. —Dave Bontempo

L

26

Global Gaming Business NOVEMBER 2019

Birthday Present Steven Brody Digital Compliance Manager, William Hill US ome connections are magical. Steven Brody has one more reason than most to remember the PASPA repeal enabling widespread legalized sports betting last year. It happened on his birthday. “It’s been a neat little trick I’ve had,” the digital compliance manager for William Hill US says with a grin. “I always remember the date PASPA was repealed, May 14, and some people think it’s amazing, like ‘How do you know the so much about this, even the date?’ It’s also the day the Supreme Court gave me a job.” Well, this one, anyway. The effervescent 36-year-old Secaucus, New Jersey, native made several productive stops before this position beckoned last year. He had his LL.M. in gaming law and regulation from the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and his J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law. Brody also earned his bachelor’s degree in accountancy from The College of New Jersey. He is licensed to practice law in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Brody also invented a patent-pending casino table game at the UNLV Center for Gaming Innovation. Before the William Hill era, he was a consultant for the New Jersey State Police and worked in the Meadowlands in a homeland-security, commandcenter role during the Super Bowl. Brody has worked for organizations that helped towns rebuild after Hurricane Sandy, and established a professional relationship with William Hill personnel prior to PASPA’s repeal. The court decision turned his life in a new direction. Online gaming’s rapid growth, coupled with the opened floodgates of sports wagering, made compliance a key position. Brody provides regulatory oversight for daily operations and represents the company to state regulators throughout the testing process of new digital products. “The job has three major areas,” he says. “One is making sure promos and specials are within state regulations and clearly outlined to players. The second regards anything to do with our platform. As you can imagine, if there is any problem with functionality it’s all-hands-on-deck to get it up and running. I am the face of William Hill to the regulators. “The third area is expansion,” he adds, regarding nuances and complexities across different states in a rapidly expanding market sector. “Through every metric you can think of, from the head counts of employees to the number of players online, the wagering opportunities we are offering—it is absolutely through the roof,” he says. “The energy and the teamwork that comes with that has been fantastic.” Brody loves the buzz of bettors engaged in the operation he oversees and is honored to join the Emerging Leaders group. “I hope what this indicates is my passion for the industry and potential in the industry,” he says. And at least on one day every year, when he blows out the candles, Brody will have a gaming milestone to celebrate. —Dave Bontempo

S