Matt Zarb-Cousin is a co-founder of Gamban, director of Clean Up Gambling and senior government affairs advisor to YieldSec. As spokesperson for the Campaign for Fairer Gambling (CFG), he lobbied successfully for a reduction in the maximum stake on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals from £100 to £2 a spin. CFG has recently relaunched with a focus on policy reform in the US.

Maris Catania is a gambling industry veteran, with more than fourteen years of game integrity and safer gambling experience. Prior to joining SG:certified as a Senior Safer Gaming Consultant, Maris was Head of Responsible Gaming and Research at Kindred.
At Kindred, Maris led its overall RG strategy, as well as several RG research projects and coordinated university and treatment centre collaborations. She was also instrumental in the concept of behavioural detection system at Kindred known as PS-EDS (Player Safety – Early Detection System) alongside Karim Chikh, who together later formed Integrity Analytics.
Maris is an instrumental player in the SG:certified team. She leads and develops up-to-date and effective content for SG:certified on safer gambling issues. In addition, she supports our clients with their safer gambling needs using the SG:certified platform.
Maris has a Diploma in Gambling Addiction Counselling and Psychology, Msc in Psychology and has a PhD focusing on consumer protection, markers of harm, and responsible gambling, at Nottingham Trent University under the guidance of the leading distinguished Professor Mark Griffiths.
She has also been awarded the Gambling Compliance Most Significant Contribution to Responsible Gambling Research for three consecutive years.

Vasiliki has been working for the online gambling sector for 7 years. She provides policy and legal advice, public affairs strategies, while she also manages sectoral projects on safer gambling, advertising and standardization. Vasiliki is lawyer with a Μaster’s degree in European Law from Maastricht University. She has a strong background on the European digital single market, while she is also passionate for technology and arts. 

Rob joined Better Change from the charity Gordon Moody where he spent 5 years running their international gambling helpline “Gambling Therapy” as well as helping to raise their profile and ensure sufficient treatment spaces were available in their residential treatment centres to meet demand. With over 12 years industry experience, including being a previous winner of the Racing Post and SiS Betting Shop Manager of the Year award, Rob brings a unique insight into the prevention and treatment of gambling harm and is keen to focus his efforts further upstream as we aim to prevent against gambling harm at Better Change through Positive Play.

Over the past decade Adam has advised across a wide range of regulatory and strategic issues for both private sector clients and regulators. His work in the sector has included regulatory and fiscal strategy, regulatory compliance, demand estimation, market size estimation, merger assessment (both due diligence and merger control), game design and risk simulation, and insight to inform regulatory policy. Adam is a regular publisher of sector thought leadership as well as a speaker, chair and panellist at international gambling conferences.

As Director of Safer Gambling, Dan Spencer heads up EPIC Risk Management’s professional services offering to the gambling industry. Providing consultation and training to the world’s most successful and progressive operators, regulators and suppliers, Dan brings his own lived experience of gambling related harm as well as an extensive career in developmental training and compliance.  Dan and his team have worked across 28 countries being recognised for their work in Safer Gambling winning multiple awards for services to Player Protection.

Jean is a Peer Aid Co-ordinator with Betknowmore UK and now supports individuals who have been affected by gambling harm.

Jean started gambling at bingo halls playing slots machine which very quickly moved into online gambling on slots. Her behaviour became very out of character during this time – making up stories that she needed money whilst instead she continued to gamble. 

Jean soon became isolated from friends and family and as a woman felt a lot of shame and stigma through her gambling, that and the time lost with loved ones and losing her identity were for her, the most tragic parts of gambling harm.

Dr. Kasra Ghaharian is Senior Research Fellow at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, International Gaming Institute. Dr. Ghaharian received his Ph.D. and MSc from UNLV's William F. Harrah College of Hospitality in 2022. His research interests center around data science and artificial intelligence (AI) applications in the gambling field. His dissertation research explored the implications of payment modernization for the gambling industry; specifically, he conducted behavioral analysis of gamblers’ payments transaction data using machine learning to identify and characterize potential markers of harm. Dr. Ghaharian is currently conducting research that explores the ethical considerations and risks associated with AI in the gambling industry. His work has been published across leading academic journals in computer science, technology, psychology, hospitality, and gambling. He is also Executive Editor for the UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal, a leading academic journal in the gambling field. Prior to his Ph.D., Dr. Ghaharian worked in the Hospitality and Gambling industry for over seven years, leading online and digital efforts for two of the largest casino-hotel companies in the world.