Female at the Forefront of Male-Dominated iGaming Industry

The history of gambling has always been dominated by men—from the top casino executives to the dealers and players. The rise of women empowerment in the past few decades has led to the involvement of more women in the gambling industry.

Even with this, it can be said that the gambling industry is still largely male-dominated. But this does not stop women from performing crucial roles within the gambling sector, which has seen a surge in demand over the past several years, with iGaming or online betting showing significant growth.

Rebecca Liggero Fontana, more popularly known as Becky Liggero, is one of the women who has successfully penetrated the iGaming sector as an on-site reporter.

“I literally stumbled across the iGaming industry in early 2005 when I was living in Boston and trying to figure out what to do next in my career. After spotting an ad in the Boston Globe, I was hired for an ‘Account Manager’ role with Casino City, Inc.

After spending a bit of time with the company, CEO Michael Corfman predicted I would do well at industry conferences representing Casino City and interacting with affiliate managers in person, so I began to travel to iGaming affiliate industry events. It was at this point that I completely fell in love with the industry,” Liggero recounted.

After over four years of working with Casino City, Liggero became the head on-site reporter for the Ayre Media Group, the CEO of which is billionaire, philanthropist and Bitcoin entrepreneur Calvin Ayre, in August 2009. She navigated the iGaming scene, learning all she could until she became an expert, by exclusively interviewing top-level executives, professionals and enthusiasts for CalvinAyre.com, and later on, for blockchain conglomerate CoinGeek.com.

Liggero reporting about events and conferences and interviewing a variety of personalities from all over the world helps audiences not only become updated in innovative technologies in the industry, but more importantly, better understand and connect to the iGaming space.

“There are three areas of my job that I think are incredibly important and also what I perceive to be my strengths: relationship building, providing a comfortable platform for experts to share knowledge and doing my research. I also think it’s important, especially as an on-camera interviewer, to be able to put my interviewees at ease, especially those who might not be media trained or used to the camera. There are all sorts of tricks I’ve learned over the years on how to help people feel comfortable, but really all it takes is a friendly face and a few words of encouragement to loosen people up before the camera starts rolling,” Liggero explained.

With more than 16 years of experience in the gambling industry, Liggero does not only put her knowledge and skills into reporting, she is also a writer, content creator and host for CoinGeek video series “Hashing it Out,” which is focused on how blockchain technology can help propel iGaming into the future.

“My recent transition from covering general gambling industry news with CalvinAyre.com for the past 11 years to covering the intersection of the BSV blockchain and the gaming industry for CoinGeek.com was a big leap, but easier to navigate after following my father’s advice to absorb as much blockchain content as I could before diving into interviewing and article writing in this revolutionary space,” Liggero revealed.

It is obvious when watching Liggero on-cam that she not only knows what she is doing by smoothly engaging her interviewees to share their expertise, but she is also having fun, making viewers connect with her and the content more effectively. And when asked to make an educated guess about the future of the iGaming industry, she does not hesitate to state her answer, showing how well-versed and immersed she is in her chosen field.

“In 10 years, I predict the BSV Blockchain will be powering the technology that we use today. I’m talking about everything from affiliate programs to payments to regulatory compliance requirements to RNGs, loyalty programs and so, so much more,” Liggero excitedly said.

For the countless women out there who are just starting out their careers or who have seemingly hit a dead end, Liggero leaves these few words of wisdom.

“My advice to women—or really for anyone, in general—would be to jump on the opportunity to interact with professionals in your space at in-person events, or virtually on video calls if in-person opportunities are not available to you. A strong network based on trust will get you so very far in your career. Having a vast network of contacts that trust you is so incredibly helpful for the type of role I have now with Ayre Media, and I have 16+ years in this space to thank for that,” Liggero said.

Thanks to Makkie Maclang