Gambling operations require a heavy technological lift.
Even the least tech-savvy person knows that sportsbooks, online casinos, and widely used mobile apps need a lot of power and infrastructure. And because we live in an increasingly digital era, data centers play an essential role in providing the services people use every day and powering them to work as quickly and reliably as day-to-day users expect.
Paul Konsbruck, CEO of LuxConnect, has a simple message to operators in need of reliable and well-connected data centers: come to Luxembourg.
Konsbruck brings years of expertise to LuxConnect. He served as the Luxembourg Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff and as a board member of SES Global, one of the world’s biggest satellite providers.
Now, Konsbruck manages LuxConnect, which provides data services to companies from across the globe. The business began 18 years ago as an initiative spearheaded by the Luxembourg government. Today, LuxConnect operates privately, though the state remains its sole shareholder.
Big names have thrown proverbial hats into the LuxConnect ring, including Amazon, which has its European headquarters in the country. Konsbruck invites gaming operators overseas—both in the U.S. and elsewhere—to consider Luxembourg for key data operations.
“We have four data centers located on two sites in Luxembourg,” he said. “We provide an element of trust and stability that’s hard to find elsewhere. We only function in Luxembourg, which is historically one of the most stable countries politically but also has high-quality infrastructure.”
Why Luxembourg and, more specifically, LuxConnect?
“Well, the first answer is another question,” said Konsbruck. “Are you interested in coming to Europe?” He went on to say many U.S. operators likely have operations in Europe that could use a regional data center. “They want to be close to their customers.”
However, businesses confined to North America still stand to benefit from LuxConnect’s services. “Energy costs are below average in Luxembourg, at least compared to other European Union countries,” Konsbruck said.
That’s a big deal, especially within the context of what sportsbooks and online casinos are starting to offer more frequently: streaming. Konsbruck said LuxConnect doesn’t know the exact workings of its data center customers.
“We don’t touch the data—we know their name and key contacts, but we treat our centers like a hotel room,” he explained. “As long as they’re not doing anything illegal and we have no indication it will be illegal, we won’t enter that room or have access.”
Even so, LuxConnect can see when energy consumption is highest, and it isn’t too hefty a logical leap to see that many clients are in the streaming game. A data center backing that kind of consumption and usage must have high capacity and reliability.
“This company has existed for 18 years, and not one second has there been a major outage in our data centers,” Konsbruck asserted. “That’s very important for our business partners.”
It could also be a draw to gaming operators in search of a strong and reliable data center. That reliability extends beyond the actual data center technology and into Luxembourg’s long-standing reputation in other highly regulated sectors.
“We have a huge history in banking,” he said. “Privacy and discretion is in our DNA because it’s important to our partners.”
Konsbruck also makes the case that he knows will be of top importance to American companies: money. “Our shareholder is the state, but we operate as a commercial company. We’re not only profit-oriented because we don’t have to pay huge amounts of dividends to our shareholders. The government wants us to reinvest.”
Finally, LuxConnect has momentum. The company isn’t content to rest on its laurels. Konsburck said the future plan is to continue investing. “There’s a bigger and bigger need for data infrastructure, and we’re investing massively into it.”
