SolutionsHub, a provider of iGaming licensing and regulatory services, h

SolutionsHub, a provider of iGaming licensing and regulatory services, has appointed Gary Harrison as chief commercial officer. He arrives with more than two decades across iGaming, financial services and technology infrastructure, and a brief to grow a business whose work now runs well past the point at which a client's licence is granted.

Harrison answered written questions from Disrupts on what companies get wrong on the way into a regulated market, what they underestimate once approval lands, and where he thinks the next openings are.

He described the decision to join as instinct as much as analysis. “For me, a move like this has to feel right, and SolutionsHub did,” he said. “I already knew the business's reputation and the team's experience, and I saw a good opportunity to build on that.”

His first priority is client contact. “I'm relationship-driven, so my first priority is to get close to the clients and understand where they need support,” he said, adding that he wants to get stuck in with the team from the start. The network built over two decades comes with him. “I know a lot of good people, and if I can use those relationships to create opportunities for SolutionsHub, it will be advantageous for both parties.”

Lee Hills, SolutionsHub's chief executive and founder, said in the appointment announcement that Harrison was “exactly the kind of senior commercial leader we wanted to bring into SolutionsHub as we continue to grow”.

What businesses get wrong on the way in

Harrison has worked across gaming, financial services and technology infrastructure, and his view is that entry into all three fails for the same reason. “What they have in common is that you cannot treat market entry as a box-ticking exercise,” he said. “I have seen businesses get the formal approval they need and then find that banking, payments, technology or local requirements make the market much harder to operate in than they expected.”

Where the sectors diverge is in what each needs to run properly. “In gaming, licensing and compliance can change quickly between jurisdictions,” he said. “Financial services come with a different level of scrutiny around controls and governance, while technology infrastructure has to work reliably from the get-go.” The conclusion he draws is to look at the full picture before deciding whether a market is right for the business at all.

Life after the licence

SolutionsHub's argument is that licensing is where a client relationship starts rather than where it ends, and Harrison said the gap between the two is where businesses are caught out. “What businesses often underestimate is the day-to-day reality after approval,” he said. “Getting the licence is a huge step, but then you have to maintain it and explore every benefit that the licence can offer.”

Once a licence is granted, he said, the regulatory obligations become part of running the business. “The people responsible for compliance need to know exactly what is expected of them, and the governance around that has to work in practice.” His own approach is to plan for that early. “I would be thinking about life after the licence from day one. If all of that is clear before approval, you are in a much stronger position once the business is live.”

On what is coming, his concern is volume rather than any single rule. “I think the biggest challenge is how much is changing at once,” he said. “Regulation is becoming more fragmented, and what works in one market may not work in the next. A business can understand a new rule perfectly well and still struggle with what it means once people actually have to apply it.” The companies that struggle, on his account, are the ones that wait for a change to become a requirement before they start preparing for it.

Growth without shortcuts

SolutionsHub says it has secured more than 120 approvals, including what it describes as the world's first blockchain gambling licence. Asked how commercial momentum is built without eroding the regulatory work behind it, Harrison put the answer back on delivery. “If the regulatory work is good, clients stay with you and talk to others about their experience,” he said, which is why he treats client retention as central to commercial growth.

“SolutionsHub has a very strong track record, so my job is to bring more business in without putting pressure on the team to take shortcuts,” he said. “Good commercial relationships come from doing the job well and being clear with clients about what is achievable. If you keep that standard, growth tends to follow.”

Success in the next phase, he said, “is measured by growing with the right clients and becoming more useful to them in more markets”. The first market he named was Ireland. “The country is going through major regulatory change, and we already have a presence there.”

Beyond Ireland, Harrison said he is looking at other jurisdictions where the rules are changing and where the firm can “genuinely make life easier for businesses entering them”. He did not name them.