Legal specialist joins award-winning North American PAM provider from Kambi and has been tasked with overseeing all of the company’s legal and compliance activity

Strive Gaming, the modern, multi-state, multi-tenanted platform provider to operators in the North American market and with applications currently pending in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan, has bolstered its senior team with the appointment of Tommaso Di Chio as Chief Legal and Compliance Officer.

As Chief Legal and Compliance Officer, Tommaso will use his skills and experience in navigating the intricate landscape of regulatory compliance and laws to oversee all of Strive Gaming’s legal matters in North America and worldwide.

Tommaso will also lead Strive Gaming’s efforts to grow and strengthen its legal and compliance teams, equipping them with the necessary tools they need to navigate the challenges and unlock the opportunities that will present themselves as the North American market continues to mature.

He joins Strive Gaming from Kambi where he held senior legal and compliance roles over a nine-year tenure, rising up the ranks to become Senior Vice-President of Legal, Regulatory Affairs and Compliance and Group Deputy General Counsel.

He is highly adept at balancing regulatory compliance and business interests, becoming a resourceful figure for regulators, lawmakers and industry stakeholders. His negotiating skills have also been put to the test in high-stakes agreements between major industry players.

“The legal and regulatory landscape in North America continues to evolve at pace so it’s vital that we have a team of highly experienced specialists to help navigate these often-choppy waters,” the Chief Executive Officer for Strive Gaming, Max Meltzer, said. “In Tommaso, we have the perfect person to oversee all legal and compliance activity at Strive Gaming and to lead and grow our teams. This is an important hire for us and will help us to continue to strengthen our position as the leading PAM provider in North America and beyond.”

“In our fast-changing industry, the secret sauce is balancing cool new ideas with being responsible,” Di Chio said. “I’m all about pulling together the smarts from regulators, lawmakers and folks in the industry to make gaming not just a money-maker but also something we can be proud of. I’m thrilled to be joining Strive Gaming on its journey; a journey that we are in together, every step of the way.”

The NFL has made changes to its gambling policy. Under the revised policy, the league has reduced the penalty for players who wager on other sports while on NFL premises or NFL business to two games for a first offense. Previously, the punishment was a six-game suspension. For a second offense, it’s a six-game suspension. A third offensive results in a one-year suspension.

The punishment has increased for wagering on NFL games. A player who bets on a game involving his team now faces a minimum suspension of two years. That doubles the prior minimum suspension.

Ultimately, each suspension is determined by the league. And even though the NFL works with the NFL Players Association on these issues, the league has full and final control over the policy, in all respects.

Players remain free to wager on non-NFL sporting events while not at work. This continues to raise the question of how it’s not an affront to the integrity of the game to place a bet on the sidewalks outside the team facility but becomes one once the player walks through the front door.

Also, there is no indication that the NFL has softened the rules for non-players. Currently, any non-player who bets on any sport faces extreme punishment, up to and including termination.