Calvin Ayre made his promised appearance at the Malta iGaming Seminar on Tuesday, appearing via Skype on a panel dubbed “A Century of iGaming.”

Led by moderator Sue Schneider, the panel also featured Sportingbet’s Mark Blandford, Novomatic’s Franz Wohlfahrt, Pinnacle Sports’ Paris Smith and Betsson’s Pontus Lindwall. The panelists looked back and compared how online gambling began, the reality it currently occupies and its future prospects. (Full video viewable at the bottom of this page.)

Asked about their frustrations during the industry’s early days, Calvin cited his main concern was figuring out “how to make it work.” Blandford groaned over his attempts at getting banks to process transactions for online betting sites. Blandford said the mere mention of internet gambling and credit cards in the same sentence was likely to get you thrown out of a bank while “the coffee was still warm.”

Smith also cited payment processing and regulations as major frustrations due to the “disparity of the understanding of the industry.” Smith noted the early days involved “every week getting a new Western Union provider.” But she said the company had ultimately learned to view frustrations as opportunities, as each crisis forces you to be creative and innovative to find a way out.