Dead Canary

How to play Dead Canary

The first time I walked into an iGaming conference was daunting. I knew next to no-one in the industry and, as far as I knew, no one knew me. I was an outsider in every sense, representing an unknown product in an industry I believed would be resistant to change.

While this initially seemed terrifying, I quickly discovered that this outsider status was a gift. It has allowed me to view the industry through fresh eyes. I do not have any preconceptions about companies or products. This has become my superpower, allowing me to analyse the industry without bias and, hopefully, help shape its future.

iGaming was not the industry I set out to work in. Before 2021, I worked in finance and business – agro companies, management consultancy and investment funds, none of which were remotely linked to the industry.

What is Dead Canary?

“Ultimately, our focus is not only on representation, but on fostering an environment where everyone has the opportunity to contribute, develop and succeed,” Yaxley says.

A key question around DEI has long been how the gambling sector can attract diverse talent. Increasingly, however, attention has shifted to whether it can retain the people it attracts.

“One misconception is that DEI is solely about recruitment targets,” Skinner says. “Recruitment is important, but bringing diverse people into an organisation without creating an inclusive culture simply results in higher turnover.”

What is Dead Canary?

While the Polymarket/Yahoo Finance situation is one of the earliest examples of a severed relationship between a prediction market operator and a media entity, that doesn’t mean those “divorces” will permeate the two industries.

There’s widespread belief that old guard media companies are incentivized to feature event contract data on their sites or reference it in select publications as a way of better connecting with younger readers and viewers.

Then there are the financial implications, namely new revenue streams. Prediction market operators typically pay media companies to integrate their data while some outlets also earn referral commissions for driving new business to yes/no exchanges.