At 1xBet’s booth in Rome, Barcelona legend Luis García greeted visitors while Omega watches were given away. Akon headlined a flashy opening-night gala. Yet beneath the entertainment lay a more serious current.
Away from the hustle and bustle, 1xBet’s Strategic Advisor Simon Westbury speaks openly to G3 Media about cultural alignment, regulatory confusion and the perception challenges facing major global operators.
Articulating the role he has stepped into at a company navigating intense scrutiny and rapid expansion, Simon explains that his Strategic Advisor position blends strategic oversight, cultural alignment, brand rehabilitation and regulatory diplomacy.
Shifting from CEO-level execution to strategic advisory has meant adopting a different rhythm, he explains. It is less about immediate deliverables and more about guiding a multinational organisation’s long-term cultural and regulatory direction.
“Having worked across different cultural environments, I know these things take time, but I’m very happy,” says Simon. “The mindset at 1xBet is similar to mine. I get up, work, eat, sleep, repeat, so it has been a perfect fit. The cultural work we’re focusing on is largely external, particularly around building international player safety indexes.”
The Western Europe edition of 1xBet’s International Player Safety Index provides one of the most detailed snapshots to date of regulatory fragmentation across nine key markets.
The findings illustrate the challenges operators face in applying consistent standards: 60 per cent of companies surveyed scored their primary jurisdiction seven out of ten for player protection effectiveness, but 43 per cent said regulation is unclear and a further 26 per cent were uncertain about how rules should be interpreted.
Westbury summarises the dilemma bluntly.
“UK operators don’t want to engage with the UKGC because they fear looking foolish. Swedish operators are waiting to see how enforcement plays out. Spain is introducing its own algorithm next year. Portuguese regulation doesn’t allow intervention when a problem gambler is identified. I’m not asking for pan-European regulation, but there is a story to tell.”
The Index paints that story vividly. Regulators operate at widely different levels of specificity, from the UK’s objective-based model to Spain’s rigid spending-threshold rules and Germany’s hard €1,000 monthly deposit cap. Operators attempting to maintain consistent standards across borders often find the task impossible. Even where the will exists, the framework does not.
Reconnecting with the Industry
With an extensive global footprint — more than 35 licences, recent expansion into Guatemala, and new deals across Latin America — 1xBet has encountered the inevitable challenges of rapid expansion. Westbury is unflinching in acknowledging them.
“1xBet has often been written about in ways that missed the mark, and part of my role is to show the industry what we’re doing. There is a story here and someone needs to tell it. I’m fortunate that 1xBet chose me.”
The strategic advisory role, therefore, is not limited to boardroom analysis. It requires narrative reframing, engagement with sceptical media and an unusual degree of personal accountability.
“I’ve done a huge amount of media work. My friends even joke about how much I’ve done. Through this process I’ve learned that everyone in the industry wants to work with us. We’re a successful global brand and we make money. A challenge is that part of the press is sceptical and won’t engage. I want them to engage and understand our story. No question is off limits.”
This commitment to transparency stands in contrast with some of the industry’s largest operators. As Westbury puts it with characteristic sharpness, “When was the last time Denise Coates gave an interview to the mainstream media? Thirteen years ago, and to the Guardian.”
For Simon, resetting the narrative is not a reputational exercise but an operational one. Credibility unlocks partnerships, new markets and technology integrations. And those partnerships are already materialising.
“The fact we’re now engaging with certain suppliers shows progress. We have high-level strategic discussions underway and deals being finalised that will be announced in the coming months.”
The qualitative signals are there, Simon sets out. Some of the biggest global sports organisations – FIBA, Volleyball World, ESL, FC Barcelona and PSG – have partnered with 1xBet in recent years. This alignment with major rights-holders is more than a marketing move, he explains. It strengthens player trust and ties brand identity to established sporting institutions.
Governance and Pressure
One critique often levelled at B2C brands is opaque leadership. Westbury insists the picture at 1xBet is clearer internally than many assume.
“It’s structured and organised, but we do have thousands of employees. It’s hierarchical, but focused,” he says. “Some of the historic stories about us are tied to the franchise model, where some franchisees didn’t meet the standards we expect. There has since been significant internal work around how we allow people to use our brand and how we ensure they don’t lead us into problematic areas.”
This tightening of the franchise model mirrors broader industry trends highlighted in the Player Safety Index, where regulators across Western Europe increasingly scrutinise B2B suppliers and technical partners. Sweden and the Netherlands have even mandated supplier licensing to address exactly these risks.
Advisory roles often carry the misconception of distance from daily operational strain. Westbury laughs off the idea.
“The 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. There’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.
“The 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. The Player Safety Index echoes this sentiment: regulators and operators alike highlight that even existing measures – affordability checks, real-time monitoring, deposit limits, 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. That 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.
The 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. The 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. That 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.
The post Shifting Perceptions: Rewriting the Odds at 1xBet appeared first on G3 Newswire.
At 1xBet’s booth in Rome, Barcelona legend Luis García greeted visitors while Omega watches were given away. Akon headlined a flashy opening-night gala. Yet beneath the entertainment lay a more serious current. Away from the hustle and bustle, 1xBet’s Strategic Advisor Simon Westbury speaks openly to G3 Media about cultural alignment, regulatory confusion and the…
The post Shifting Perceptions: Rewriting the Odds at 1xBet appeared first on G3 Newswire.