Gaming executive with more than 30 years of tribal, gaming and cybersecurity experience joins global infrastructure and cybersecurity business

Leading managed hosting, connectivity, cloud and cybersecurity provider to the gambling industry, Continent 8 Technologies, has welcomed Jerad Swimmer (pictured) to its global sales team as the business continues to expand at scale and pace.

Swimmer is a highly experienced business development executive with 33 years of experience in the global gaming industry. He has worked for seven tribes and held positions at Gaming Laboratories International, FABI Cash, Indigo Sky Casino and 13 other gaming facilities as well as serving under the Quapaw Tribal Gaming Agency and the Eastern Shawnee Tribal Gaming Commission. He joins Continent 8 Technologies from BIG Cyber where he was Director of Business Development for the past twelve months.

Based in Miami, Oklahoma, Swimmer will bring this vast tribal and cybersecurity experience to the role of Regional Sales Director at Continent 8 Technologies, where he will be responsible for supporting the company’s growth across North America. With his knowledge of the North American tribal landscape, he will be focused on empowering tribal and commercial gaming operators, ensuring these businesses have the very best infrastructure solutions and cybersecurity protections in place to succeed in the competitive landscape.

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“I’d like to give a warm welcome to Jerad, who becomes the latest member of our global sales team,” the founder and Chief Executive Officer for Continent 8 Technologies, Michael Tobin, said. “Jerad is an industry veteran with a deep understanding of the United States market and the infrastructure and cybersecurity solutions businesses need to succeed in tightly regulated and highly competitive markets. With Jerad on board, we can continue to deliver a world-class experience to our existing customers while engaging those yet to work with us.”

“It’s an honour to join Continent 8 Technologies’ global sales team and to be able to support the business with its plans for the North American market, specifically focused on developing relationships with tribal businesses and tribal leaders,” Swimmer said. “As a proud member of the United Keetoowah Band and growing up in the gaming industry, I must do my absolute best to protect tribal country and tribal assets; the biggest asset being the youth, which is the future of our tribes.

“I look forward to working closely with tribal governments, operators, regulators and suppliers over the coming months and helping them to find the right cybersecurity solutions for their needs. After all, cyber risks are at an all-time high and all businesses must be prepared. This is an aspect of business that simply can’t be ignored and Continent 8 Technologies has the solutions and services needed to ensure resilience and protect sovereignty, assets, networks, systems and data.”

Swimmer will be attending RES 2024, presented by the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development, March 11 to 14, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Global digital infrastructure solutions provider expands within state through new strategic site opening, further ramping up its disaster recovery capabilities, coupled with the West Virginia [Lottery] regulatory approval for its recognised public cloud solution catering to the online sports betting and iGaming verticals

Continent 8 Technologies, the renowned provider of digital infrastructure including managed hosting, managed network and cybersecurity solutions to operators and suppliers in the fast-growing North American market and beyond, is ramping up its offering in West Virginia with the opening of an additional site.

Continent 8 Technologies has deployed an ambitious first-to-market approach in the United States, notably going live in West Virginia via a site in South Charleston in 2018, permitting customers to hit the ground running when online sports betting launched in August later that year.

Located over 200 miles away from the South Charleston site, Continent 8 Technologies, in partnership with the Seneca Rocks Regional Development Authority, has now officially opened its data centre in Petersburg, West Virginia. As a result, it now adds true disaster recovery and enhanced business continuity to its suite of solutions available to operators and suppliers in the state via this dedicated site. Both sites are PCI DSS compliant.

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Further expanding its solutions and capabilities in the state, Continent 8 Technologies has received approval by the gambling regulator in West Virginia, for its powerful Public Cloud solution, currently live across the majority of regulated gaming states across the United States. Meeting strict regulatory requirements, operators and suppliers can take advantage of the flexible, usage-based model for those looking to enter the market.

“We are thrilled to have added a second site, allowing us to expand our offering to include disaster recovery, as well as our approved Public Cloud solution in our original site, further establishing Continent 8 Technologies as the leading infrastructure provider in the North American market,” the founder and Chief Executive Officer for Continent 8 Technologies, Michael Tobin, said. “Infrastructure is the foundation operators and suppliers need to succeed and that’s why the biggest players come to Continent 8 Technologies. Our solutions, customer service, reputation and experience are unrivalled.”

Continent 8 Technologies is the leading infrastructure provider in North America for the online gambling industry with 85% of operators on the 2023 EGR US Power Rankings using its suite of managed hosting and connectivity solutions. In West Virginia, it is live with over 20 of the biggest brands operating in the state.

Continent 8 Technologies is live in 30 United States states with significant investment planned to further expand its multi-site footprint across numerous states, continuously adding to its global connected network of +100 locations across four continents.

Sebastian Fernandez and Luana Monje join the global digital infrastructure provider to drive further strategic efforts in the region

Continent 8 Technologies continues to grow its global commercial team following the appointment of Sebastian Fernandez and Luana Monje as Sales Executives.

Sebastian will be based out of Buenos Aires in Argentina and joins Continent 8 from IT giant Dell Technologies, where he spent more than 12 years across several roles including a Senior Systems Engineer and most recently Account Executive.

Luana comes to Continent 8 from AWS (Amazon Web Services) where she held the role of Demand Generation Representative. Based in Sao Paulo, Brazil, she has a deep understanding of the region which has just passed legislation to legalise online sports betting and casino.

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Both Sebastian and Luana will be responsible for nurturing relationships with Continent 8’s existing Latin American customers, helping them to maximise the potential of its solutions and services from cloud hosting and connectivity to layered cybersecurity.

They will also support new customers looking to make a move in the region, particularly Brazil which is expected to generate approximately $2.6bn per year (gross gaming revenue) by 2026 according to KPMG. Continent 8 will be live in Brazil to support customers with its full suite of solutions in the coming months.

Brian Koh, Chief Commercial Officer at Continent 8 Technologies, said: “I would like to extend a very warm welcome to Sebastian and Luana who join Continent 8 at a pivotal time for the LATAM gambling market.

“Latin America is a thriving market with a lot of latent potential, something that the opening of Brazil will help to unlock. We are well positioned to help customers looking to launch into this market, and Luana will undoubtedly play a significant role in ensuring they go live with the best infrastructure and security in place.”

Sebastian Fernandez, Sales Executive at Continent 8 Technologies, added: “I’m excited to be joining the Continent 8 team and to bring over a decade of IT experience to this role. This is an incredibly exciting region with huge potential on the table, but organisations must have the right infrastructure in place if they are to maximise the opportunity. This is something that Continent 8 is renowned for, and we look forward to working with businesses across the region.”

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Luana Monje, Sales Executive at Continent 8 Technologies, added: “I couldn’t ask for a better start to the year. I look forward to sharing my AWS expertise and knowledge of the LatAm market with the team and of course our customers.”