One of Kindred's values is "we are individuals united," meaning that we are a diverse network of passionate and talented individuals who are proud to be part of Kindred. As experts in different areas, we all add something special to the company. Our success depends on attracting and keeping the best talent who recognises the importance of being a part of a winning team.
Olga Pinto Loureiro: Our Sportsbook Executive - Control and Compliance embodies our values. She has been with Kindred for over 10 years and is also the first woman on the Sportsbook Control and Compliance team to be a part of the Kindred Sportsbook Platform project. We were lucky enough to catch Olga and ask her some questions.
What is your career path at Kindred, and how have you landed in the Sportsbook Control and Compliance team at Kindred?
I worked as a Risk Classification Executive at StanJames for 5 years before Kindred acquired the company. We joined Kindred just before the launch of our in-house racing platform, which was an exciting time. I continued working on risk classification post-acquisition for a further 4 years focusing primarily on our Racing Product. Since then, we have won 3 EGR awards: 1 for the most innovative Horse Racing product and 2 best Horse Racing Operator awards for the last 2 consecutive years. I am very proud to have been a part of this project. With the upcoming launch of our in-house sports platform and considering the ever-evolving regulatory landscape, we needed to create a new team that would focus on a compliant yet competitive sportsbook offer. I am pleased to be the first woman on the Sportsbook Control and Compliance team and be a part of the KSP project since its beginning. It’s going to be a truly exceptional Sportsbook product.
You’ve been at Kindred for over 10 years, which is quite an achievement! What has kept you at Kindred for so long?
Kindred is like a big family; it values its employees, and I have enjoyed working here every day. The working environment is very sociable, and I am lucky to work with brilliant people I consider friends rather than work colleagues. The collaboration within Kindred is nothing like I’ve seen before in other companies. The company values are principles I truly believe in and live by. “We are individuals united” and “We dare to challenge” are values I see reflected in my day-to-day working environment.
Please tell us a little about the Kindred Sports Platform and how your role supports this exciting initiative.
I am excited about the opportunities arising from having our sportsbook product, especially for our customers. We plan to build the most innovative & customer-focused sports solution on the market. As Compliance Executive, I support our company purpose: “To transform gambling by being a trusted source of entertainment that contributes successfully to society.” My current work is building on the compliance essentials for KSP and working with developers in creating a state-of-the-art & flexible platform that will provide a compliant and competitive sportsbook offering to our customers in regulated markets. As we have proven over the years, compliance is at the forefront of Kindred’s operating model, and rightfully so.
It is a super interesting time to join Kindred. How do you see the Sportsbook department transforming over the next 2-5 years as we go live with our in-house Sportsbook platform?
It is indeed! We are going to grow massively. We are already hiring, and there will be plenty of vacancies. We will have trading and product teams spread around the globe, and we are hoping to build on the great success of the Kindred Racing Platform, where we’ve seen awesome teamwork between teams in Australia, Gibraltar, London, and Stockholm. In addition, we are looking into hiring talented and diverse individuals with a creative attitude, who will push us further into becoming leaders across multiple markets.
You recently attended the SBC Summit in Barcelona (A Global Betting and iGaming conference) and joined a special network event for women within the (Sports betting) Gambling industry. Please tell us a bit about the conference, the networking event, and any takeaways.
I had an excellent time at the Summit. There were numerous takeaways from this experience, including networking with many people, learning from today’s and tomorrow’s leaders, and getting to know exciting new products within the industry. I was pleased to see that Inclusion & Diversity is getting much traction and the women’s networking event was a great opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences over our career paths and experiences with employers. It was clear that despite the unbalance in leading positions; women have as much to contribute across all positions.
You’re a member of the WomanKind, Kindred Women’s Network. Can you tell us about the network and what made you want to join?
I have recently joined WomanKind, and I am looking forward to the mentorship program that is about to start. Inclusion & Diversity have always been part of the Kindred spirit, and Womankind is yet another initiative aiming to empower and develop women across our organization through dialogue and inclusiveness. How could I not want to join? In my experience, Sportsbook is perhaps the gambling product with the least representation of women. However, I have always been treated equally and felt I had a voice. By sharing stories between the 100+ women at Kindred, we hope to inspire and encourage other women to take leadership positions or other gender-biased jobs.
