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October 6-7, 2026

Cybersecurity Workshop 2026

This workshop is exclusively for representatives of ECA member casinos.
If you're employed by an ECA member casino and wish to receive registration details, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with the workshop title in the subject line, using your work email address.

Why this workshop matters

Cybersecurity has become a critical operational priority for Europe’s casino sector. Land-based casinos rely on increasingly interconnected systems, while many operators also provide online gaming services. A successful cyberattack can disrupt casino operations, compromise customer or employee data, interfere with payments and gaming systems, and cause serious financial, regulatory and reputational damage.

Cybercriminals are constantly adapting their methods. Casinos must be prepared for threats including ransomware, phishing, payment fraud, data theft, attacks on suppliers and deliberate disruption of critical systems. Artificial intelligence is adding a new dimension to these risks by enabling criminals to create more convincing fraudulent messages, impersonate trusted individuals and organisations, and conduct attacks with greater speed and scale.

The growing sophistication of these threats makes cooperation and knowledge-sharing across the sector more important than ever. The ECA Cybersecurity Workshop brings together casino professionals and cybersecurity experts to exchange practical experience, examine emerging risks and discuss how operators can strengthen their resilience. We encourage all eligible ECA casino employees with responsibility for cybersecurity, IT, risk, compliance or operational resilience to take part.

Participation and important information

The ECA Cybersecurity Workshop is exclusively open to employees of casinos operated by ECA member organisations. An official registration website is available, and its details have been shared with all ECA members. Eligible employees of ECA member casinos will receive the registration details by email.

If you are unsure whether you are eligible to participate, please contact the ECA Secretariat at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The workshop provides a trusted environment in which participants can exchange experiences, discuss cybersecurity incidents and share operational insights openly. All presentations, discussions, documents and other information shared during the workshop must therefore be treated as confidential and for participants only. Content may not be recorded, photographed, quoted, attributed, forwarded or otherwise shared outside the workshop without the prior permission of the presenter or the person concerned.

Participants must also respect applicable data protection requirements and the privacy of fellow attendees. Participant names, contact details, images, recordings and any other personal data obtained in connection with the workshop may not be used or circulated without an appropriate basis and, where required, the individual’s prior consent.

Important practical information

The host casino will charge a €120 food and beverage contribution, payable on arrival at the casino. An invoice will be provided. This covers the welcome lunch, farewell lunch, networking reception and all coffee breaks during the two-day workshop.

Event poster
October 6-7, 2026

THE PROGRAMME

Programme update: new session confirmed

We are pleased to confirm a new session for the workshop:

"We are bulletproof." But are we really?
Presented by Gregor Spagnolo

This session challenges the confidence that our own systems are impossible to hack.

Gregor Spagnolo is a cybersecurity professional, security researcher and ethical hacking expert with extensive experience in incident response, penetration testing, application security and cyber defence. He holds the CEH and CASE certifications, has taken part in advanced cyber defence exercises such as NATO's Locked Shields, and regularly shares his knowledge through cybersecurity training and conferences.

The presentation connects this challenge to an actual case: the cyberattack that forced the temporary closure of HIT's six casinos in Slovenia at the end of August 2026. Drawing on this incident, Gregor Spagnolo will offer first-hand insights into how quickly assumed resilience can be tested, and what casino operators can learn from it.

Sandi Bratasevec, Chairman of the Management Board of HIT d.d. Nova Gorica, will also take part in the workshop and will be available to answer questions.

We are currently working on integrating this session into the full programme below. The exact time slot will be confirmed shortly.


All times are Central European Summer Time (CEST).

The programme remains subject to adjustment while the final speaker and contribution confirmations are completed. Any updates will be published as soon as they are available.

Dinner, transfer and shuttle arrangements will be communicated directly to registered participants.

DAY ONE | Tuesday 6 October 2026

10.30

Early Birds Welcome and Registration

The venue opens at 10.30 and early arrivals are welcome for networking with cold and hot beverages.

12.00

Joint lunch

An informal networking lunch for all participants

13.00

Opening and welcome
Speakers: Tobias Wald, BW-Spielbanken; Thomas Schenk, BW-Spielbanken and ECA; Guido Berghmans, Casino 2000 and ECA

Welcome from the host and the ECA.

13.15

Agenda introduction
Facilitator: ECA Cybersecurity Working Group Steering Committee

Overview of the programme.

13.30

Participant introductions
Facilitator: ECA Cybersecurity Working Group Steering Committee
A short round in which representatives of the participating casinos introduce themselves and their respective organizations.

Followed by Artificial Intelligence in Casino Organizations: From Implementation to Risk Management
Facilitated discussion

  • Current AI initiatives, implementation approaches, integration challenges, and practical experience across the participating casinos
  • Strategic opportunities, future developments, governance requirements, and potential risks of AI adoption for participating casino organizations
14.30

Identity Resilience with Semperis: DSP, ADFR and DRET
Speaker: Max Stein and Tim Wolf, Semperis, with operational input from BW-Spielbanken

The session will explore identity resilience for Active Directory and Entra ID, including the discovery of unknown or misplaced service accounts, monitoring of privileged accounts and rapid recovery from identity-based attacks. Questions and an optional live demonstration are included.

15.00

Short break and Q&A with Semperis (optional live demonstration)
Max Stein with S. Röhl, BW-Spielbanken.

15.15

Microsoft's Tiering Model and Identity Segmentation
Speaker: Julien Rasclard, LIMON IT

Using the layered protection of casino assets as a practical analogy, this session explains how Microsoft's Tiering Model and identity segmentation can reduce the attack surface around privileged identities and Active Directory. It will also demonstrate how continuous security measurement through CyberDashboard can help organisations maintain protection over time instead of relying only on periodic audits.

16.00

Unified Identity Protection with Silverfort
Speaker: Martin Menzer, Silverfort, with operational input from BW-Spielbanken

Silverfort provides identity protection across on-premises and cloud systems by identifying unknown service accounts, enforcing two-factor authentication for privileged accounts and strengthening access controls without major infrastructure changes. The session combines practical Active Directory hardening, enterprise experience, questions and an optional live demonstration.

16.45

CMS Cybersecurity Today and Tomorrow: Playtech
Speaker: Playtech representative, joining remotely, to be confirmed

Playtech will presentation on casino management system cybersecurity. We are confirming the exact topic and description directly with Playtech and will send the final text separately once received.

17.30

Digital Strategic Autonomy
Speaker: Guillaume Rogard, Groupe Partouche (30 minutes)

Digital sovereignty is now a major concern for executives, CIOs and CISOs. The risk of digital dependency, particularly on non-European suppliers, must now be considered at the same level as cybersecurity risk.

In an increasingly conflictual geopolitical environment marked by intensified economic competition, unilateral decisions by certain non-European Big Tech companies are becoming plausible. Geopolitical developments may generate negative economic externalities, such as sharp increases in software licensing costs, abrupt changes in contractual terms, service withdrawals or shifts in business models.

European economic actors, including ECA member casinos, are now in a situation of technological captivity, which can be broken down into three dimensions:

  • Budgetary captivity: licence cost inflation and unpredictability in the pace of price increases.
  • Operational captivity: dependence on single vendors, high exit complexity and switching costs, proprietary data formats, long-term contractual commitments, and limited visibility over hardware upgrades driven by software evolution.
  • Legal captivity: exposure to foreign legislation and increased risk affecting strategic and personal data.

This issue must therefore be addressed at a strategic level: control, continuity and resilience.

18.00

Group photo

18.15

Close of day one and networking

19.00

Dinner and networking

Joyce Bar & Restaurant

21.30

Optional casino tour

Two guided groups are planned, covering both slots and the classic casino.

DAY TWO | Wednesday 7 October 2026

9.30

CMS Penetration Testing: Lessons from Q2 2026

A high-level summary of a comprehensive penetration test of a casino management system, covering architecture, configuration, interfaces and operational processes. The session will focus on lessons learned, remediation and future testing and audit preparation, while respecting applicable confidentiality and disclosure restrictions.

9.45

“We are bulletproof.” But are we really?
Speaker: Gregor Spagnolo, cybersecurity researcher and ethical hacking expert (CEH, CASE)

This session challenges the confidence that our own systems are impossible to hack. Gregor Spagnolo is a cybersecurity professional, security researcher and ethical hacking expert with extensive experience in incident response, penetration testing, application security and cyber defence. He holds the CEH and CASE certifications, has taken part in advanced cyber defence exercises such as NATO’s Locked Shields, and regularly shares his knowledge through cybersecurity training and conferences.

The presentation connects this challenge to an actual case: the cyberattack that forced the temporary closure of HIT’s six casinos in Slovenia at the end of August 2026. Drawing on this incident, Gregor Spagnolo offers first hand insights into how quickly assumed resilience can be tested, and what casino operators can learn from it.

Sandi Brataševec, Chairman of the Management Board of HIT d.d. Nova Gorica, will also take part in the workshop and will be available to answer questions.

10.15

Holland Casino Cybersecurity Perspective
Speaker: Joost de Jong, Holland Casino

Joost de Jong will share a practitioner perspective from Holland Casino. The final topic and session description are being confirmed and will be published once available.

10.45

Working Group Organisation and Collaboration
Facilitated discussion

A working session on how the ECA Cybersecurity Working Group should cooperate between meetings, including its code of conduct, communication channels and possible collaboration platform.

11.45

Open Forum: Cybersecurity Priorities from Across the Group
Facilitated discussion

Participants are invited to propose topics in advance through the registration process or working-group channel, and may also raise urgent issues during the session.

12.30

Joint lunch

13.30

Roundup of the workshop findings

14.00

Agreement on the 2027 workshop dates, closing remarks and farewell

until 17.00

Optional Networking Lounge and Airport Shuttle

Participants with later flights are welcome to remain for further networking. A shuttle service to Stuttgart Airport (STR) is planned between 14:00 and 17:00. Practical details will be confirmed with participants before the workshop.