3 Secrets to Success: Michael Tobin from Continent 8 on People, Local knowledge and Operational Rigour in iGaming
- Gambling IQ
- Jan 19
- 2 min read
Michael Tobin has that rare combination: accountant’s caution, founder’s appetite and a taste for tidy metaphors. “The idea just hit me,” he tells the latest edition of GamblingIQ magazine. “There are seven continents. The eighth was being formed by the Internet.” Founded in 1998, Continent 8 has grown methodically from a single data centre into a privately regulated network spanning more than a hundred sites worldwide. Tobin treats resilience as a moral obligation; slow, steady upgrades and auditable processes, he insists, separate mere vendors from partners that operators can truly trust.
His three secrets read like grooming tips for infrastructure: first, people; second, local knowledge; third, relentless execution. “It’s people that make the difference,” he says, blunt and unromantic. Partnerships, mentors and local teams form the social scaffolding that keeps systems honest when code and hardware fail. In an industry that sells spectacle, Tobin favours relationships, learning and craft.
The second truth is geography. “Entering a new regulated market is never a one-size-fits-all process,” he notes, recalling projects from the Isle of Man to Atlantic City. Continent 8’s playbook is customised: work with regulators, learn local quirks and build the appropriate footprint. That approach turned a cautious data centre operator into a partner for markets that demand both speed and legal certainty. And then the grind. Tobin lays it out without flourish: the operational headache is real. “The biggest operational headache I think, is maintaining independence, absolute consistency in performance and compliance across such a diverse footprint,” he admits. Updates, patches and monitoring must be choreographed across time zones. “It’s like running a global orchestra where every instrument must play in perfect harmony.” Automation and centralised monitoring conduct the score; local teams keep the tempo.
The results are persuasive. Continent 8 now offers DDoS mitigation, private regulated networks, ISO accreditations and a host of other services that help operators sleep. Regulators demanding auditable resilience get a single bill of health. Tobin’s pitch is refreshingly unsexy: do the work, hire the right people, respect the place. “Talk and continuously learn,” he says. It may not be glamorous, but it’s the thing that lasts — and in this business, that is everything.
>> Read 'Defenders of Trust' from GamblingIQ here: https://www.gamblingiq.co.uk/magazine-defenders-of-trust-fraud-prevention-and-security-report-2026
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