Companies that fail to make marginalised communities feel welcome risk losing more than goodwill, says Kweku Sapara-Grant, who argues the financial cost of poor inclusivity is often underestimated by leadership.

Speaking to Ana Maria Menezes at SBC Summit Americas 2026, the Director of External Affairs at Lotto.com and board member of African Americans in Gaming discussed how inclusivity can move from a “woke” buzzword to a sustainable, profitable business strategy.

A Changing Floor

Sapara-Grant, who has attended SBC Summit Americas for several years, said the visible makeup of the show floor has shifted noticeably over that time.

“You’re starting to see the landscape of the floor change,” he said, pointing to a new wave of younger, more visibly diverse professionals entering the industry alongside its legacy figures. 

He added that gaming will always need fresh talent to reach new generations of players, calling it “a forever leisure activity globally.”

Talent Isn’t the Problem, Access Is

Asked whether the industry genuinely lacks diverse talent or simply struggles to find it, Sapara-Grant was clear that the issue lies in access, not capability.

“The talent’s always going to be there,” he said, but warned Ana Maria that hiring processes can quietly filter out candidates based on names or backgrounds before they ever reach an interview. 

“You don’t know who could be your next star in the industry because they weren’t even aware that the industry wanted them to be there,” he said.

The Cost of Getting It Wrong

Sapara-Grant illustrated the risks of homogenous decision-making with the example of a clothing brand that placed a “coolest monkey in the jungle” slogan on a child’s t-shirt modelled by a Black child, an outcome he argued a more diverse room would likely have caught before launch.

“Having a lack of diversity in the room is probably what led to that occurring,” he said, stressing that while the brand’s intent wasn’t malicious, the oversight still caused real harm.

Revenue, Not Just Reputation

For Sapara-Grant, the business case is straightforward: alienated communities don’t come back.

“When you have a demographic or a marginalised community that feels as if a business does not want them there, that dollar isn’t coming back,” he said, pointing to gaming’s broad appeal across casino, lottery and horse racing as a reason operators can’t afford to overlook any customer base.

Leadership Sets the Tone

On what executives can practically do, Sapara-Grant said inclusivity is less about formal declarations and more about visible openness from the top.

“They don’t have to write down, ‘I love black people,'” he said. “It is them showing in their day-to-day that they are open to diverse voices coming forward and being present and being at the table.”

He recounted being greeted at a job interview by an executive who compared his haircut to a sitcom character, an encounter that immediately signalled the company wasn’t the right fit. “This is not a safe space,” he said of the moment. “It’s not going to be based on merit.”

Watch the full episode here.