The first day of the iGaming Next Online conference has come to an end, and it provided an entirely different look at how the gambling industry will battle through this COVID-19 pandemic. Each speaker gave tips on how we can not only be better during this time of crisis, but how we can also be better coming out of it.

The day began with a welcome message from Pierre Lindh, Managing Director and cofounder of iGaming Next. He gave a broad overview of the current moment for the gambling industry, but cautioned that “Life will not go back to normal before there is a vaccine.” Ultimately though, as the industry matures, he noted that we should be looking for the opportunities that come over the horizon.

Next up was a talk from Dragan Donkov, Manager Learning and Development Team at the Richmond Foundation – Malta. He spoke to how we can manage our emotional well being as the world seems to fall apart around us. While everyone deals with crisis differently, he noted that it’s normal to feel fear.

More than ever, people are feeling isolated, bored, and anxious about getting sick, losing their job and security. We’re currently feeling a collective and individual sense of grief for what we’ve lost. And most of us have gone through all the stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, sadness, and finally acceptance.