Lydia Barbara, Head of Pegasus Gaming Solutions will be among the key speakers in the POKER & SYNERGY BETWEEN LAND-BASED AND ONLINE panels, at the Eastern European Gaming Summit 2015, which will be held between 23-24 of November in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Few things that you should know about Lydia: “When she wasn’t lost in a good book at university, Lydia could be found at the poker table, learning how to read players, play hands and handle bad beats. She entered the online gaming industry in 2005, occupying managerial positions in B2C and B2B environments before joining Microgaming four years later.
Following a five-year stint managing poker and network games, Lydia launched Pegasus Gaming Solutions, a specialist consultancy operating under the Microgaming umbrella. Pegasus assists new operators as they venture into online gaming for the first time, as well as helping established operators plan for major changes, get more value from their data and increase the profitability of their online businesses.
Lydia still manages to play poker on occasion, but these days when she isn’t in the office or travelling for work, she’s usually clambering up mountains, eating exotic foods or decompressing underwater.”
EEG: Based on your biography, we’ve learned that you are quite a passionate poker player. Do you think that land-based poker tournament holders should also engage with the online gambling environment to reach larger crowds in their country?
Lydia: Land-based poker companies and online poker companies should definitely join forces to reach larger crowds. With the number of live poker players growing world-wide, working together for mutual benefit only makes sense.
Players seek very different experiences when playing live and online, and the relationship of the two can easily be described as complementary.
EEG: This is one question we ask anyone we interview that is involved in the online poker industry. Do you think online poker is dead? Many consider this statement a fact, but do you think that the industry can revive it and restore it to the likes of before “Black Friday”?
Lydia: No, I don’t think online poker is dead. I do think that the days of the industry being easy, for players and operators alike, are long over. Companies need to think more creatively about what appeals to players about poker, and then work to change the game and their software accordingly. And we may never again reach the height of Black Friday attendance, but that’s OK. There are still ample players around the world in both established and up-and-coming markets to keep the tables full for years to come.
EEG: Do you consider major changes of online gaming ventures, such as mergers or ownership changes, to have a good or bad impact on the player?
Lydia: Any major ownership change to a company has the potential to be good or bad for players; it depends on how the transition is managed and what the new owners’ goals and ambitions are. But considering all the different liquidity pools players can choose from in the .com space, consolidating some of these might be a good thing for poker players long-term.
EEG: Can Eastern Europe become a large segment of the industry in terms of economy if it deals its cards right?
Lydia: If Eastern European countries regulate sensibly, with fair and appropriate taxes and licensing requirements, then of course these countries can compete on the global scale.
If you would like to get the unique opportunity to ask all your important questions and learn first-hand details about the SYNERGY BETWEEN LAND-BASED AND ONLINE & ONLINE POKER, be sure to attend the Eastern European Gaming Summit at which Lydia Barbara will speak on two panels. For 8th consecutive year on 23 – 24 November 2015, Inter Expo Center in Sofia, Bulgaria will bring together under one roof world’s leading figures and companies from the industry to present and outline current market developments and future trends with global vision and focus on the Eastern European market.
Visit the EEGS website here.
