01 · With The iGaming Leader
Two conversations
02 · About
Who Paris is
Paris Smith ran Pinnacle for around 17 years, joining as COO in 2006 and stepping down as CEO in May 2023. Under her leadership the bookmaker repositioned from North America towards Asia and Europe, built its reputation on low-margin pricing and a policy of not restricting winning bettors, and became one of the first books to offer esports betting, from 2010. She began in the industry in 1995 at World Wide Tele Sports, rising to executive vice president, then COO of Betcorp.
Since 2023 she has worked with early-stage founders: co-founder of the startup launchpad Defy the Odds, founder of Life Winnings, and from March 2026 a co-founding partner in BettingStartups Capital, a pre-seed and seed fund for sports betting and iGaming startups. She was inducted into the SBC Sports Betting Hall of Fame in 2017 and the Sports Gambling Hall of Fame in 2025.
03 · Career
Where the seat was earned
04 · Recurring themes
What Paris keeps coming back to
- What to look for in founders: hungry, humble, smart, passionate
- Sharp-bettor risk management and not restricting winners
- Esports betting as a product category
- Leadership, culture and women in iGaming
- Sweepstakes, grey markets and regulatory shifts
“We know better than to stand still in the betting industry.”
SBC News, December 2019
05 · On the record