GMB – With over 20 years of experience in the global market, what can Continent 8 offer the global gaming industry?
Jorge Morales – Continent 8 offers a reliable and secure option for hosting gaming platforms and content in the gaming industry. This is through a completely independent and private global private network. Our engineers have the expertise in these technologies needed in an industry where no one can afford to lose connectivity.
And what are the main markets for Continent 8?
We are a global company positioned for many years, 20 years or so, in Europe, Asia and has grown significantly and is positioned in every state in the US where gambling is allowed. We are also entering Latin America, already with a presence for several years and now making more noise with a presence in the region and a cloud in Bogotá, with a presence for the entire region. So we are a very strong and big company in the gaming-related areas.
What impact has sports betting regulation been having on the company's growth?
I would tell you it's too big. The industry in general is growing. Thanks to the growth of betting and especially sports betting, which has a very good acceptance by governments and this is a key example. An example of this, as you know it well, is Brazil and the United States and Canada. In addition to other important countries where betting was very limited or did not exist. But there is a rush for sports betting and some markets are opening. Or at least they're looking at the projects in this industry that might be allowed. So sports betting has been fundamental.
You just talked about Bogotá. Colombia is developing its online market well. How does Continent 8 position itself in the country?
Thank you for such an important question. Colombia has pioneered the region with robust regulation. It is a country that is open to most forms of face-to-face and online gambling, which makes it very interesting. The truth is, their entrepreneurship and support for the industry deserves to be applauded. For this reason, Continent 8 has established a hybrid cloud in the city of Bogotá. An important fact is that through this cloud there is also connectivity to all points. We are talking about approximately 80 data centers globally that the company owns. This means that those who use it can reach, not only from abroad to Colombia or any other country in the region, but that local operators, through a network that is already connected at a global level, can maintain their base in that country, at very affordable costs, reaching any part of the world. It is a movement that will start to emerge in the region with local operators that continue to grow and establish themselves very well, which may have the opportunity to reach other regions.
In other words, from Colombia, Continent 8 has consolidated its presence throughout Latin America…
It is the beginning and a first step towards expanding in the region. We are also working on other types of products to reach the Brazilian market and to see how we can interconnect with low latency Europe with Brazil and Argentina, very important countries in the region.
The Latin market has great potential, with Argentina and Brazil moving their gears to enter this business with force. What does this mean for Continent 8?
For the Continent 8 team, it is fundamental. Brazil and Argentina are large countries in the region with the ability to compete with any country in the world. These advances allow us to grow and expand our products for both existing customers moving into new regions and new regional companies.
Cybersecurity is an issue that affects everyone, especially during the pandemic, which saw online activity soar. How to offer this in the gaming and betting sector?
Security has always been critical in the gaming industry, which has the peculiarity that it is heavily affected by denial of service attacks, better known as DDoS, and data theft. Remember that connections move a lot of financial transactions, so they must have certifications and high standards. Continent 8 has been growing hand in hand with the industry and these attacks are often more advanced than technology, which puts us at the forefront with these products having a global connection that allows us to identify where these attacks are coming from to protect customers, bypassing attacks from where they are generated without affecting other regions, so that the operator can continue taking bets filtering only known connections and blocking attacks from their origin. For me this is fundamental in this industry. And this service is something that we've already integrated and is part of our cloud. So any customer that is affiliated with Continent 8's hybrid cloud already has the full DDoS service built in.
And how to develop so many things to serve this rich market?
Continent 8 implemented technologies from existing companies, such as Fortinet, already well known and strong in this environment and created a hybrid product that, through Fortinet and other companies and the programming of its own engineers, we manage all services and create a unique service focused on game industry. We don't develop alone, but we use what works and tailor it to create a hybrid product that can efficiently serve the industry.
And is this what represents the success of Continent 8 in the market?
It is critical, because a customer who loses connectivity and cannot connect with their partners is a customer who loses money. If he's not online, neither are we. So it's a key part, in addition to the global presence. Being within this network from a single point or from several points, moving and using all this integration to bring different services where the regulation allows. And where regulation specifies that you have a presence with a local server, Continent 8 is also available. This allows you to have the necessary services locally and use services aggregated on the platform from where it is already implemented. With that, we take care to comply with the regulation and with the standard systems of each company.
Speaking of regulation, Brazil is regulating sports betting and perhaps all online gambling. What can Continent 8 add to regulators in Brazil with its cybersecurity experience for the gaming sector?
The 20 years of experience in the industry speaks for itself. We have grown with the industry, operators and regulators. It's a fundamental point. In this regard, I can comment on a public-private partnership in the state of New Jersey, where Continent 8 has a data center so that already approved and licensed operators can be assured regulatory compliance, while regulators can effectively comply with and enforce regulation. In regulation, the implementation [of cybersecurity] is important, in my opinion, to maintain good credibility and the healthy growth of such an important industry.
In other words, Brazil can also count on the support of Continent 8 if it is called to give an opinion on the area of information security!
And I would like to add that Continent 8 created a company in the group, completely focused on cybersecurity, service management and prevention. It's C8 Secure, the company that we'll give more details in the near future. It brings the experience completely focused in the area of cybersecurity and prevention. Continent 8 is completely at the disposal of regulators and we will soon send more information so that they can contact us.
Source: Exclusive GMB
