WH Partners announced the opening of a new office in Rome, Italy. WH Partners Italy will operate under the leadership of Quirino Mancini and Andrea Marchetti.

Quirino Mancini is one of the leading Italian sports, media and gambling lawyers, having over 20 years of partner level experience. He acts for many online and land-based companies operating in Italy and internationally, advising them on legal, licensing, regulatory compliance and other operational matters. Andrea Marchetti is a seasoned corporate and M&A attorney with extensive experience across a wide range of industries including new technologies, energy and manufacturing. He has successfully advised clients on complex mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures, specialising in cross-border transactions.

This expansion marks the firm’s latest step in strengthening its European footprint.

“We are excited to launch WH Partners Italy and welcome Quirino, Andrea and the rest of the team to our firm. Our partnership is built on a long-standing professional relationship with them. We have worked with both Quirino and Andrea for many years and have been consistently impressed by their commitment to deliver outstanding results for clients. Recognizing that our clients need an evermore multi-jurisdictional approach, we believe this is a significant step forward in growing our firm’s international reach in a manner which strategically benefits our clients,” James Scicluna, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at WH Partners, said.

Quirino Mancini, Partner & Director of WH Partners Italy, said: “It is a true pleasure to join WH Partners, a firm known for its global outlook, forward thinking approach, and commitment to clients. The Italian legal market is complex and full of opportunities at the same time. I have worked closely with the WH Partners team for years; thus, our partnership is a natural fit, and we are excited to be able to service clients across multiple jurisdictions.”

Andrea Marchetti, Partner & Director of WH Partners Italy, added: “We’ve built a practice in Italy that’s adept at navigating the intricacies of both local and international legal landscapes, and now we have the opportunity to leverage WH Partners’ resources and experience to better serve our clients. We join a dynamic organization that values innovation to offer globally informed legal services. My partners and I look forward to establishing the Italy office as one key part of the firm’s international network.”

At the onset, WH Partners Italy team includes 3 partners: Quirino Mancini, Andrea Marchetti and Pietro Rossi, although the firm plans to progressively and organically grow its team in the coming months. The Rome office will provide a full range of legal services across corporate/M&A, commercial litigation, gaming and gambling, technology, insurance, real estate, banking & finance, intellectual property, insolvency & restructuring and corporate services. WH Partners Italy’s lawyers will work closely with WH Partners’ lawyers in other jurisdictions, as part of WH Partners’ multi-territory practice groups, servicing both domestic and international businesses.

WH Partners is a law firm with a strong focus on assisting businesses fuelling the digital economy and not only in the territories it operates in. It has offices in Malta, Italy, Romania and it operates Czech, Polish and UAE desks, as well as having a worldwide network of correspondent firms. The firm has a well-established practice advising clients on (in no particular order) fintech, gaming & gambling, corporate, M&A, tax, dispute resolution, corporate finance, intellectual property, data privacy and personal data processing, consumer protection & advertising, real estate, employment & immigration matters, sports, technology & media, competition & state aid.

Kindred Group plc (Kindred) has reported a slight increase in its share of revenue from high-risk players for the third quarter 2024 at 3.2% (Q2 2024 3.0%). The percentage of detected customers who exhibited improved behaviour after interventions showed an improvement at 87.3% (compared to 86.8% in Q2 2024 and 87.1% in Q1 2024). The improvement underscores Kindred’s ongoing commitment to not only identifying risk behaviour but also continuously refining the interventions applied to foster safer gambling habits.

“The rise in high-risk revenue presents a challenge in the third quarter, which reinforces the need for further advancements in our behavioral harm detection and automated intervention systems. Looking ahead, we recognise this need as well as to broaden our focus to ensure comprehensive coverage across more areas related to safer gambling. A key aspect of this future strategy is to build on the strengths, insights and knowledge gained from our proprietary detection system over the years,” said Esther Scheepers, Head of Responsible Gambling at Kindred Group.

“The general awareness and knowledge around gambling disorder is increasing rapidly, as is the sophistication of technological support tools. By combining our own knowledge with new and improved technology, we can enhance detection capabilities further. We are currently upgrading our detection system with a new improved system, which will enable us to integrate more robust compliance features and optimise our overall approach to safer gambling. Additionally, we are exploring opportunities to expand and refine our research initiatives, particularly in areas shaped by current trends and emerging issues in consumer protection,” Esther Scheepers added.

Award-winning former Financial Times journalist and business broadcaster Nadine Dereza has been confirmed to chair January’s World Gaming Forum, the three-day learning, networking and knowledge sharing exchange which replaces ICE VOX.

In a career that’s seen her interview global politicians including the late Kofi Annan, Condoleezza Rice, Ban Ki-moon, Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Gerhard Schröder, Nadine will once again be applying her journalist skill set to Clarion Gaming’s sector-leading World Regulatory Briefing, Casino & Leaders Conference (formerly the ICC), and the Esports & Games Conference (formerly the Esports Betting Conference), having previously presented the final edition of ICE VOX in London.

The ICE World Gaming Forum will run Monday 20th – Wednesday 22nd January 2025 alongside the ICE and iGB Affiliate exhibitions which will be hosted for the first time at the Fira Gran Via Barcelona, one of Europe’s biggest and best-appointed venues and home to prestigious Tier 1 events including Smart City Expo, IOT World Congress, Mobile World Congress, IBTM World and Integrated Systems Europe.

Clarion Gaming’s Senior Conference Producer Damien Ashton-Wellman said: “We are delighted to have Nadine back on the team for delivering the first edition of the World Gaming Forum. Nadine was central to the success of the 2024 ICE conferences which featured over 1,210 senior decision makers from 79 countries, including 621 operator C-Level, 87 global CEOs, 72 national and regional regulatory bodies, and 7 government ministers. Her unique blend of financial, political, and technology sector experience, and her broadcast ready presentation skills really delivered an elevated experience for the show.”

He added: “We are confident that our new world class venue and host city partnership will provide a platform for further growth with the ICE World Gaming Forum delivering exclusive connections, in-depth content, and tailored networking events.”

Nadine Dereza said: “I’m delighted to have been invited back to help launch the World Gaming Forum in what is a favourite European city of mine. The gambling industry is a highly innovative sector for entrepreneurs, policy makers and campaigners alike. ICE reflects this dynamic on a global scale and I’m looking forward to hosting insightful debates, regulatory updates and plenty of knowledge sharing. I’ve described ICE as being the ‘Davos of Gaming’ because it’s the largest gathering of leaders from across the global gaming ecosystem. Having previously hosted the IBTM Leadership Summit for several consecutive years and many international shows in Barcelona, the welcome and event services offered by the city and Fira venue are among the best I’ve worked with, and those attending ICE in January will see that experience too”

The World Gaming Forum will be situated at the heart of the Fira Gran Via Barcelona and feature an exclusive club-style VIP lounge for delegates and speakers, a dedicated networking garden, and provide access to a range of concierge services, including early access to the show each day.