Glenn Debattista begins new chapter as COO at BetStarters

Garance Limouzy September 19, 2024

On Monday this week (16 September 2024), Glenn Debattista stepped into his new role as Chief Operating Officer (COO) at BetStarters, a platform provider for iGaming operators founded in 2016. He shared his experience with SiGMA News.

With nearly 20 years of experience in the iGaming sector, Debattista’s career trajectory has been impressive. He previously served as COO at Revpanda, where he honed his skills in digital marketing and strategic operations. Reflecting on his career, Debattista explained, ” My journey in iGaming started almost 20 years ago. Back then I worked in the trading department as Risk Manager and eventually as Trading Manager with sportsbooks targeting different jurisdictions for nearly 15 years.”

Coming full circle in sportsbook expertise

His transition to BetStarters marks a return to his roots, in the sportsbook domain. “Working on sportsbooks was a big factor when I decided to work for BetStarters, since it was what got me into iGaming in the first place,” he explained. “This time round, it’s B2B so I will be very happy to give my input based on the experience I have as well as learning new things from this other side of the fence.”

Monday, on his first day at BetStarters, Debattista was met with the usual mix of excitement and challenges. “The first day at any new company is always an exciting moment that stimulates you,” he remarked. “In fact, you get to meet your new colleagues, understand the environment you are getting into, and look forward to proving yourself in this new adventure.” He acknowledged the challenge of familiarising himself with the company, noting, “The challenges are obviously that of learning how the company operates and the products that are being offered, but that is a natural process everyone goes through.”

“An exciting, growing, and ambitious project”

Looking ahead, Debattista defined his immediate and long-term goals. “BetStarters is an exciting, growing, and ambitious project,” he said. “The immediate priority is to learn the ins and outs of the products we offer. Once I have the full knowledge, it will make the next steps easier.” His long-term vision focuses on elevating the quality of BetStarters’ products and solidifying the company’s position within the competitive iGaming landscape. “The main long-term goal is to help BetStarters grow in this industry by improving further the already high-quality products we offer and boosting our brand name.”

While it’s early days, Debattista is already looking forward to the future. “It’s obviously still early days for me at BetStarters, but I’m super excited about what’s in store for the future as I believe that there is huge potential here,” he said.

“You can never know enough”

For those aspiring to follow a similar career path, Debattista offered valuable insight: “The main advice is that you should never stop learning and always be humble to accept the fact that you can never know enough, no matter how much experience or knowledge you have. Also, keep up-to-date with the latest news, attend conferences, network, and make sure you brand yourself in the right way on LinkedIn.”

As he embarks on this new role, Debattista remains optimistic about the future of BetStarters. “Based on what I saw and what we are working on, I think that the future is very bright,” he concluded.