The successful transformation of a major gambling business requires both an injection of the latest technology and a reimagining of the corporate culture, evoke CEO Per Widerström tells the new edition of SBC Leaders magazine.

Issue 32 of the magazine includes an in-depth feature about the future of the custodian of the William Hill and 888 brands, in which Widerström and Chief Strategy Officer Vaughan Lewis detail the difficult steps they are taking to get the business back on track after a troubled period.

While the decision to rename the plc evoke is perhaps the most eye-catching step, the company is also undergoing an extensive restructuring program designed to combine the strengths of its two internationally recognized brands, together with a revamp of the executive team.

Widerström remains keen to see further change, though.

“When we are looking ahead with our value creation plan – the new strategy – we are instigating a new way of operation, which is more data-driven and more integrated with intelligent automation,” he tells SBC Leaders.

“Of course, then we are building a new culture as we go along. It is an ongoing process to make sure you have a fit-for-purpose, future-proofed culture and way of behaving in any living organization in order to stay top in the industry.”

Elsewhere in the magazine, cover star Marina Ilina, the CEO of Pin-Up Global, shares her views on what lawmakers get wrong when creating regulated markets or updating regulatory regimes. 

“More often than not, states think that if businesses are tightened up with mandatory deductions, it will be good for the country,” Ilina says. 

“In reality, however, operators are very good at counting money. Licensed operators will not work in the countries where taxation, for example, mandates withholding winnings from the player, but does not regulate the grey market. Players themselves will not play in licensed products.”

Readers can also look forward to interviews with a number of other high-profile figures in the industry.

Betfred’s incoming Chief Intelligence Officer Andrew Daniels discusses plans to use the operator’s all-new tech division to replicate its retail success on digital channels, while LiveScore Group’s General Counsel Rani Wynn examines whether marketing regulations are hampering the promotion of safer gambling practices. 

Bulgaria’s gambling regulator Alexander Popov explains his plan to tackle the black market, while PressEnter Group’s Head of Payments Sean Spiteri discusses technological developments in the payments space. Amit Berkovich, evoke’s Head of Poker, calls for greater innovation to give the game a new lease of life, and Christoffer Andersson, Chief Operating Officer at 500 Casino explains why he believes the recent changes to Curaçao’s regulation will be a good thing.

There is also an in-depth look at the international furore about gambling advertising, a deep dive into the growing threat of AI-powered fraud, an evaluation of whether the sweepstakes model can successfully transfer from the U.S. to international markets, and much, much more.

Click here to read the digital version of SBC Leaders Issue 32 or pick up a print copy at SBC Summit in Lisbon.