As the iGaming industry gets its collective feet back under the desk after the festivities of late December, SBC News sits down with 1xBet’s Strategic Advisor Simon Westbury. 

2025 was a year of change and ambitions for Westbury, who ended his eight month hiatus in the summer by taking on his role with 1xBet. Chatting about his first six months in the role, which has focused on player protection and industry dialogue, Westbury is idiosyncratically honest about his development and 1xBet’s achievements and future ambitions. 

He outlines why confusion still reigns globally when it comes to player protection and regulation, why he doesn’t like to set too many expectations instead focusing on maximum delivery, and hints at an exciting new project launching in early 2026.

SBC News: How would you assess your first six months at 1xBet from a strategic point of view? 

Simon Westbury: Overwhelmingly positive! The strategic objectives of 1xBet are clear; we want to strengthen our position in regulated markets, where we have grown our local licences geographically and now hold over 35 licences.

We have further strengthened our brand presence through the renewal of our partnership with PSG and the activation of our partnership with FIBA. We also strengthened our position in esports with our recent sponsorship of MIBR’s VALORANT team. 

The engagement with the industry with the publication of Player Protection Index – Western Europe that was published by SBC has been a key cornerstone of our engagement within the industry itself and we are in the process of publishing our second report focusing on Africa in early 2026, which I am sure we will talk about in due course. The research itself has shown that confusion reigns with operators seeking more clarity, consistency and communication. 

Finally, the industry recognition in the last quarter was the cherry on the top, where we won a multitude of industry awards spanning different continents, demonstrating that 1xBet is a true powerhouse of the industry. 

SBC: What were your ‘expectations vs reality’ of taking on this role at 1xBet? 

SW: I have long given up on having expectations as I find that they disappoint in reality. Instead, I focus on turning up, working hard, delivering and ensuring that I eat, sleep and breathe my work. Both myself and 1xBet had deep engaging conversations before I joined and this really helped the process, as I could really see the opportunity that was been given to me by 1xBet. 

I can say the reality of working for 1xBet has been truly transformational for me and has re-energised me, whilst also developing myself as a professional. I feel valued and this has driven a new type of commitment within me to not only deliver but surpass the expectations of my colleagues where I can. 

The work is different, more strategic, more high level and I truly feel there is the potential to not only help shape 1xBet’s future but also that of the industry itself in a positive way.

SBC: Since taking the role, one key theme has been dialogue. What are the key conversations driving player protection in 2025? 

SW: I think I touched on this above when I talked about the 3C’s all driven by confusion. 

That is communication, clarity and consistency. This is demonstrated by the fact that 60% of operators gave their main jurisdiction seven out of 10, but 43% of operators were still unhappy with the regulations and 26% wanted more clarity. 

We were in a crazy situation in some jurisdictions where operators would not approach the regulator for fear of looking stupid, other operators in other jurisdictions looked how regulations were enforced in order to understand how they should be applied and finally in some markets operators could not step in when they believed problem gambling was occurring because the regulations would not let them. 

That is not to simply blame regulators as they are the ones who try to apply government laws, so to me the most important conversations the industry needs to have is actually one with society and to shape the view of gambling as a social activity that is not negative but an acceptable form of entertainment. 

Of course we have seen some governments such as Spain evolve with the introduction of their own algorithm for player protection in 2026 and it will be interesting to see how that plays out. However, generally, I think we are seeing a tightening of regulation based on misunderstanding of us as an industry coupled with the need for governments to raise tax revenues with gambling seen as an easy target. Within all this, I believe that actual player protection at the core is lost a little bit and the players themselves are not put first by the regulation. 

The industry itself also needs to show the good work we do, such as the 1xCup in Nigeria and not focus on pushing the boundaries of regulation to the point that an easy negative press story can be drafted. I believe as we go into 2026 there needs to be self awareness from the industry itself as we look to engage and help shape the narrative of player protection rather than have it dictated by governments. 

SBC: What are your core aims in 2026 and what can readers expect to see from 1xBet and yourself? 

SW: You know I never make anything about myself, so my core aims are the aims of 1xBet. They are simply to ensure that we continue to grow with more licences, more engagement with the industry and finally, the launch of a very exciting new project in Q1 2026. This project will be the culmination of a lot of work by my colleagues that I hope to be spearheading and I look forward to sharing more information with you on this in due course.

SBC: What was your favourite moment of 2025 professionally? 

SW: I do not think there has been one stand out moment, I think the whole last six months have been a highlight for me, not just in 2025 but a highlight of my career. The drive and dynamic nature of 1xBet has truly rubbed off on me and I hope I have managed to project that energy outwardly to the industry. 

SBC: Do you have any predictions for how 2026 will shape up? 

SW: Maybe not predictions, but hopes.

I hope as an industry we get to move away from buzzwords and following perceived latest fads, to focus on driving entertainment and excitement for the end users of products. To put the players at the core of everything we do and really drive this industry forward to new heights, through renewed risk taking based on sound decision making.