Senior Director of Legal and Corporate Secretarial Affairs

How do you build a responsible gambling framework from the ground up? That question was at the heart of one of the most compelling plenary sessions at #Discovery2026. "Growth with Integrity: Embedding Player Protection in Emerging Gambling Markets" brought together voices from three very different jurisdictions to examine what it really takes to get player protection right from the start, before systems calcify and habits form. Moderating the conversation was Tracy Parker, RGC's Senior Vice President of Accreditation, Advisory and Insights, whose work with operators and regulators around the world gives her a unique vantage point on what separates good intentions from lasting outcomes. Joining her on the panel:  Anna Harry, Senior Director of Legal and Corporate Secretarial Affairs at Jamaica's Casino Gaming Commission, offered the perspective of a regulator actively building the architecture for a new gaming sector. Her work documenting the CGC's responsible gaming framework and advertising guidelines illustrates what it looks like to embed player protection into governance from the very beginning. Seamus Strutt, Manager of Gaming Programs at Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis, brought a decade of experience developing responsible gambling initiatives in a jurisdiction navigating significant market growth. Alberta's recent iGaming expansion makes this perspective especially timely. Travis Sztainert, PhD, Director of Research and Education at the International Center For Responsible Gaming, grounded the conversation in evidence. His work bridging science, regulation, and industry practice helped frame how research can and should inform policy in markets at every stage of development. Judith Glynn, PhD at the Centre of Excellence in Responsible Gaming (CERG) Gaming, University of Gibraltar and President of PRET Solutions Inc., brought a practitioner's perspective shaped by decades of experience spanning public policy, regulation, and research. From her early work implementing Ontario's gambling regulatory framework in the late 1990s to her current research on the role of gambling in society, Judith's contributions connected the long arc of policy development to the challenges facing emerging markets today. The session made clear that the decisions made early in a market's development carry enormous weight. Culture, player behaviour, and societal attitudes toward gambling do not stay static, and the frameworks built to protect players must be designed with that reality in mind. RGC is proud to contribute to these conversations, and to work alongside partners like AGLC, the CGC, ICRG and PRET Solutions to advance responsible gambling standards globally. #ResponsibleGambling #PlayerProtection #Discovery2026 #GamblingHarmPrevention