A Conversation with Simon Westbury

Trust, Transparency and the Long Game

I sat down with Simon Westbury, Strategic Advisor to 1xBet and Chairperson of the Advisory Panel for 1xCare, on the sidelines of a busy conference season. With more than 18 years in the gaming industry, senior leadership roles at Digitain, VSoftCo, BetSoft, Amaya and Sport Generate, he has seen the business from virtually every angle. These days, however, he speaks with the measured cadence of someone who is no longer chasing quarterly KPIs but thinking in terms of years, even decades.

When I asked Westbury what it meant to describe his role as one that “really allows me to be me”, he explained that the phrase was about empowerment and trust. He said that when he joined the 1xBet family, the theory was simple: he wanted to be trusted to do his job. A year in, he told me, that has genuinely happened. He feels more trusted and empowered than at any point in his career.

That trust, he explained, was demonstrated by the organic evolution of 1xCare and the honour of being appointed its Chairperson and Director. He admitted that joining 1xBet was not originally about launching a player protection NGO—it was not on the agenda. But through working with colleagues and research undertaken in partnership with SBC Media, they identified a real need for such a project within the industry.

The most important lesson he has learned along the journey, he reflected, is that reality is fluid. He has absorbed so much knowledge and expertise from colleagues that he has become more flexible in his approach, and through that flexibility, he is finding opportunities to help grow both 1xBet and 1xCare.

Experience You Cannot Buy

There is an old adage, Westbury observed, that you cannot buy experience. In his previous roles at the companies he mentioned, his job was really to accelerate the business with a focus on commercial growth. His current roles, he said, are more measured. He can take a longer-term strategic view. In the past, especially in commercial terms, although there were always three- or five-year plans, the pressure was to deliver the KPI for the year.

In his advisory and chairperson role, he told me he genuinely feels he is in a position to work with colleagues to forge long-term success for 1xBet and 1xCare but most importantly, to shape the future direction of the industry. He described 1xBet as, beyond question, a key player and a leading brand. And 1xCare, he said, allows him to work with his colleagues on the advisory committee and the industry to shape the future of player protection and safer gambling. In real terms, this will help create a long-term sustainable future for the industry. He is not denying it is a big challenge, but it is one he is embracing and, most importantly, enjoying.

A Duty, Not a Slogan

The launch of 1xCare is a significant undertaking—a separate NGO with its own four-pillar structure covering research, education, technology, and support. Westbury has said that “responsible gambling is not a slogan; it is a duty”. When I pressed him on what success looks like for 1xCare in 12 months, he pushed back gently on the timeline.

Success for him, he explained, would be to have invested in different projects, ideally at least one project within each pillar, that really makes a difference to the industry in the mid- to long term. He stressed that 1xCare is not a project looking for instant short-term success but a long-term commitment to verifiable change. Change takes time, and it will be delivered by turning up every day with the mindset of delivering.

He told me it is not for him to measure success in 12 months; it is for him to understand what success looks like in three years and what differences have been made at that point. Of course, as an NGO, they will publish their accounts and reports so they can be judged on what they delivered in the first year. But as he said, this is not the world of instant KPIs but long-term delivery of strategic growth in player protection and safer gambling in a transparent manner.

Encouragingly, he noted that in the first month alone they had 10 submissions for funding. The team is working through the proposals, formally working the application process and reviewing funding submissions. If they can move the dial forward from performative compliance to a genuine commitment from the industry to engrain a player protection ethos in everything they do—from conception to delivery—then they will have had success. Progress, he said, is always positive.

Independence and Authority

Westbury has brought together an impressive Advisory Committee with expertise in regulation, law, public policy and sports integrity. He told me the selection process was mainly driven by himself and the vision he had for 1xCare. He wanted to select individuals with impressive track records in their specialist fields who could bring a positive contribution to what they wanted to achieve. Most importantly, he did not want colleagues who would simply say yes. He wanted people he knew would challenge them and the funding proposals at every step of the journey. Transparency, he said, is very important to him, and he did not want to be surrounded by people who simply agreed.

The genuine authority of the committee, he explained, comes not just from the experience of his colleagues or the transparency they are employing. It comes from the independence of the committee members.

None of his fellow committee members have any connection with 1xBet; they sit on the independent committee. Of course, he is the chairperson and a representative of 1xBet. However, he assured me they have full independence in terms of funding. In the meetings they have had to date, there has been full open discussion without any influence from 1xBet on how they allocate funds. He said he knows none of his committee members or himself would stand for that.

Momentum and the Power of the Brand

1xBet has had a strong year so far. Winning Best Sportsbook Operator at SiGMA Europe and SiGMA South America, reporting a 14.2% increase in betting activity, and holding 35 licences across regulated jurisdictions. When I asked Westbury what he sees as the single most important factor behind that momentum in 2026, he reflected on the nature of momentum itself.

He observed that momentum takes time to build, and starting it is the hardest part. When you start your car, getting from 0 to 10 miles an hour, the car is working hardest because it is starting from a motionless state. Once the car is moving, it is far easier to accelerate. In real terms, he said, the momentum behind all the recent success started around 20 years ago when 1xBet was founded. However, from his personal view, he has seen genuine momentum build since March 2025, when he started his interview process with 1xBet.

There was a clear commitment, he explained, to focusing on regulatory rigour and licence acquisition, empowering colleagues, and ensuring they work with the right partners. This all fits into an overarching strategy built around the constant evolution of their product, the commitment to safer gambling, enhancement of their digital marketing tools, and finally the creation of strong brand partnerships with organisations such as FC Barcelona, PSG and FIBA. These pillars, he said, build trust for their customers who are at the core of everything they do, but also for the wider iGaming ecosystem they operate within.

The Conference Circuit

The conference and exhibition season is relentless, and Westbury has undertaken 44 flights already this year, ensuring he is in the places that matter for 1xBet and 1xCare. When I asked whether the industry is actually covering new ground or simply having the same conversations in different locations, he was refreshingly candid.

He told me the increase of regional shows is brilliant because it allows regional-specific discussions and conference sessions which may be missed in the larger super-shows. At the regional shows he has attended this year, he has seen all the main players from the region, allowing for further discussions and deeper understanding. He has also believed in being on the ground and meeting people face to face when they can.

He has also attended a number of what he calls boutique shows, smaller in nature, but he has found that they have provided a basis for particular forms of discussion that have really allowed him to gain deeper insights into what is actually going on. One show that particularly stood out for him this year was SBC Eurasia in Tbilisi.

Of course, he acknowledged, there is always room for the super-shows. ICE will always be ICE, SBC Lisbon is growing into a powerhouse event, and SiGMA with their regional strategy are all bringing value to the table.

No one says you have to be everywhere, and he thinks people are choosing which shows bring value to their spending. However, with 1xBet and 1xCare’s global outlook, he is delighted to be everywhere. One thing he would like to see, he added, is stronger conference content, as he believes these forums provide a wonderful opportunity for knowledge sharing which has become a bit lost on the ever-expanding exhibition floors.

The Industry’s Biggest Challenge

When I asked Westbury about the most important topics the industry is currently grappling with AI and hyper-personalisation, tighter regulation across Europe, and a focus on brand trust over bonus-led acquisition, he acknowledged that all of them are important.

He observed that the industry is susceptible to the adoption of buzzwords and chasing the next big things. However, he thinks they are seeing how different tools such as AI can be used to advance personalisation. When they move past the buzzwords and see the application of the tools, they actually see how interlinked they all become, and none are truly independent of each other when applied properly.

The challenges for operators are clear, he said, with ever-increasing regulation and taxation. However, he believes the tension point is mainly for the industry as a whole, because they seem to have lost their social licence with society. He reflected that the industry they work in and love has moved over the last 15 years from being seen as fresh and dynamic to being viewed negatively.

To him, this is the biggest challenge the industry faces. They all need to work together to move past “instantism” and look to regaining their social licence—and that is done through engagement with society, governments and regulators.

Localisation and Compliance

With 1xBet holding more than 35 local licences and several more applications in progress, I asked Westbury how they balance the opportunity of rapid global expansion with the complexity of maintaining compliance and a consistent brand reputation across so many different jurisdictions.

He told me it is more than 35 local licences and growing, with some new licences to be announced shortly. The balance of global expansion and maintaining compliance, he explained, is mainly achieved through localisation, having local teams and partners in all the jurisdictions they operate in.

Building for the Long Term

Looking ahead to 2027, I asked Westbury for his vision for 1xBet and for the industry as a whole. He had already spoken about the importance of “building for the long term” so where does he see the biggest opportunities and the greatest risks over the next 12 to 18 months?

He reiterated the greatest risk he sees: the loss of connection with society and media as a whole. They need to work together, he said, to ensure they focus on being seen as a positive industry that contributes positively to society. Otherwise, they will see the increasing burden of taxation under the guise of improved regulation.

If this conversation does not happen and the dial moves in a different direction, many markets will become commercially unviable for regulated operators. In short, he warned, if they do not build for a long-term sustainable future, he would not like to guess how the industry will look in five to ten years.