No blueprint: Women building iGaming’s future from scratch
As of 2026, the global iGaming market is estimated to be worth between $100 and $130 billion, and it is expanding steadily. Beneath the impressive figures, however, is a more nuanced tale of entrepreneurs creating empires without a blueprint, women negotiating prejudice in quiet, and boardrooms still dominated by men.
This International Women’s Day, SiGMA News interviewed four remarkable women leading change across iGaming: from esports to AI-powered game development, from B2B sales across three continents to gambling harm prevention. Their words are honest. Their journeys are extraordinary. And their message is clear–the industry is changing, and women are driving that change.
Knowledge as credibility
Priya Ahlawat (as depicted in the featured image on far-right side), Founder, Jumping Play Studio & Managing Director, Epic88 India, has built two ventures in the iGaming development, she did it in India, where the tech ecosystem is booming, but the cultural assumptions around women in leadership can be deeply entrenched.
The resistance she encountered early on wasn’t just about competition. It was systemic from company registration to building a team to advocating for her own vision in rooms where her authority was quietly questioned.
Ahlawat explained, “There is still a common perception that women require constant support or validation from male counterparts when making strategic decisions.”
Her strategy? Over-prepare and out-perform. She came to every table armed with knowledge, clarity, and unshakeable confidence. Over time, even the skeptics turned into supporters.
On the role of women in driving AI innovation in gaming, she draws on something surprising: mythology. In Indian culture, she reflects, the divine feminine exists in two forms: the nurturing creator and the transformative force that reshapes the world. She sees both qualities reflected in what women bring to tech.
Ahlawat further stated, “Game design today is not just about technology; it is about understanding human behavior, player experience, storytelling, and engagement.”
Her advice to female entrepreneurs: to become knowledgeable, develop subject-matter competence, and transcend conventional limitations: every one of us has a single life, and we should live it as we see fit.
Decision-making power
Monica Shafaq, (as depicted in the featured image on second from right side) Former CEO of Gordon Moody, has spent her career confronting gambling harm. Her perspective on International Women’s Day isn’t about glass ceilings. It’s about the people the industry leaves behind.
Shafaq said, “Treatment systems have historically been shaped around male patterns of gambling behaviour, which can mean women’s needs are unintentionally overlooked.”
She calls for gender-responsive responsible gambling methods that are grounded in evidence, guided by diverse leadership, and linked to trauma-informed, adaptable, and truly accessible treatment routes.
Shafaq emphasised, “True inclusion isn’t just about representation in leadership. It’s about ensuring the systems we build respond to everyone affected by harm.”
According to Monica, transparent, evidence-based, and impact-focused partnerships between charities and business are the most effective. Supporting treatment programs specifically for women and creating awareness campaigns that reduce stigma and increase help-seeking.
Global sales beyond persuasion
Sona Tunyan, (as depicted in the featured image on far-left side), B2B Sales Lead at 18Peaches, has closed deals across Asia, Europe, and Latin America. She discovered that cultural dynamics–not gender–were often the biggest challenge.
Tunyan revealed, “In Asia, trust and relationships are often established before business discussions even begin. In Europe, structure and clarity tend to guide negotiations. In LATAM, personal connection and energy can move things forward very quickly.”
Sona highlights women’s cognitive flexibility, the ability to switch strategies and adapt rapidly, as a competitive advantage in iGaming’s constantly shifting markets. “Empowered women empower women. Seeing women leading negotiations, influencing strategy, and making important decisions was genuinely inspiring for me. It showed me that leadership in this industry can take many forms.”
Building while proving legitimacy
When Tapasya Shukla, (as depicted in the featured image on second from left side), Founder & Managing Director of Zutsu Esports, set out to build Zutsu Esports, she wasn’t just launching a startup, she was stepping into territory where almost no woman had gone before. There was no map to follow. She had to draw her own. “As a woman founder in esports, you are often not listened to immediately. You get interrupted. You are second-guessed. You are asked to re-explain decisions you’ve already validated.”
Her advice for women entering iGaming marketing: “Build substance before visibility. In iGaming and esports, relationships are not transactions. They are long-term capital. Your credibility compounds. If you deliver consistently, people remember.”
Industry is listening
Across four very different careers and contexts, these women are telling a consistent story. The iGaming industry has a diversity problem not just in who sits at the top, but in whose needs shape the products, the policies, and the support systems it builds. They are not waiting for permission. Together, they are actively reshaping it one decision, one partnership, one policy at a time.
This International Women’s Day, the most important question the industry can ask is not how to celebrate women, but how to make room for them to lead.
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