“We’ve lost the public argument. As an industry we're not viewed as cool or modern, but murky. Tat leads to tightening regulation under the guise of raising tax, which pushes players to the black market. No one
benefits from that.” SIMON WESTBURY Strategic Advisor, 1xBet
Advisory roles often carry the misconception of distance from daily operational strain. Westbury laughs off the idea.
“Te biggest challenge is maintaining my standards and delivering with the intensity I bring to everything. It’s working for one of the world’s biggest gaming companies. Tere’s pressure to deliver for an organisation that always delivers.”
He describes it not as a cushy position, but as a role where expectations are high, timelines are tight and scrutiny is relentless. His remit includes oversight of the Player Protection Index expansion into Africa and Latin America, markets where regulatory landscapes differ even more dramatically than Europe’s. He sees these forthcoming reports not only as research outputs but as tools to reshape industry conversation.
“If Western Europe, considered the benchmark, has these issues, what will we find elsewhere? Africa can learn from Europe and Europe can learn from Latin America, but only through real conversation.”
MOVING BEYOND FADDISM
In a sector that ricochets from one trend to the next, Westbury is weary of superficial innovation.
“Te issue now is faddism. Everyone has a buzzword, whether it’s gamification or personalisation. AI is a tool we’re developing, but it’s like a washing machine. It’s useful, but you still need to put the washing in.”
He argues that true innovation lies not in chasing novelties but in refining tools already in place. Te Player Safety Index echoes this sentiment: regulators and operators alike highlight that even existing measures - affordability checks, real-time monitoring, deposit limits,
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self-exclusion - suffer from inconsistent application rather than conceptual gaps.
“When people pitch new ideas to 1xBet, one of two things happens. Either the idea isn’t new or it is new but they’re afraid others will copy it. Tat stifles the originality we used to have.”
What he wants to see is the return of risk-taking, not the return of trend-cycling. Crash games, he notes, became ubiquitous not because of creativity but because their success spawned thoughtless imitation rather than inspired iteration.
Te International Player Safety Index is a reminder that regulation is a moving target, shaped as much by politics as by policy. Operators crave clarity. Regulators crave control. Governments crave public approval. Te discrepancy between these agendas is widening, not narrowing.
“We’ve lost the public argument. As an industry we're not viewed as cool or modern, but murky. Tat leads to tightening regulation under the guise of raising tax, which pushes players to the black market. No one benefits from that.”
For Simon, the future is not about convincing regulators to ease restrictions but about rebuilding trust with society itself. Only then can operators, regulators and governments collaboratively shape frameworks that balance protection with player choice.
In many ways, Simon's advisory mandate mirrors the purpose of the Player Safety Index. Both are attempts to impose structure, clarity and accountability on a fragmented ecosystem seeking to move the industry out of defensive crouch into proactive maturity.
And both, if successful, will help 1xBet tell a new story - one grounded in transparency, evidence and a willingness to evolve.
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