Melissa Blau has been in the Media, Technology & Finance sectors for 20 years and has been specifically in the online gaming sector for the past seven years as both an operator and advisor. In her current capacity, Melissa has been an advisor focused on bridging US and European interests. Through her consulting company, iGaming Capital she has been advising mainly land based companies assisting in developing their online gaming strategy.  Clients include Hard Rock Seminole, Pechanga Development Group, Paragon Gaming, a New Jersey based casino,  Optimal Payments, amongst others. Prior clients include Bally Technologies, Sisal SpA, Antenna Group (Greece), and The Racing Post.

In addition to her current capacity, Melissa has been the Finance Editor and regular columnist for iGaming Business Magazine since 2006. Her column, titled the iGaming Global Top 20 Index, tracks the top 20 publically listed companies and gauges investor sentiment.  She is also part of several leading expert networks where she speaks to funds on range of financially related topics relating to the online gaming sector.

Prior roles in Online Gaming include CFO of St Minver (acquired by GTECH), Operating Executive of Global Leisure Partners (boutique M&A advisor), CEO of Europa Point Group (acquisition vehicle that owned BetUK, Betrepublic, Betasia) and Investor and Director of Live Gaming Technology.

Prior to the iGaming industry, Melissa was a General Partner and founding member of Constellation Ventures, a $450m media technology venture capital fund in conjunction with Bear Sterns. Melissa has a B.A. from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Harvard University. 

Melissa will be speaking on Day 3 - Thursday 24th May

• 14:45 - 15:30 The Business of Online Gaming: Financial Analysis of the iGaming Sector
• Conference Room 2: Trends, Regulation & Finance Track