We are growing in Malta and expanding to other areas of the globe, says Sophie Crouzet, SiGMA Group events director.
With this year’s edition of SiGMA iGaming Summit, how has the SiGMA Group grown in 2019?
Increasing in size, scope, and success over the last five years, SiGMA’19 will be the busiest show yet, offering 15,000 delegates the chance to network with leaders in the iGaming industry, strike deals with the biggest brands, engage the leading suppliers, and secure support from the affiliates that matter.
This edition of SiGMA will take place between November 27-29 in Malta, with visitors from more than 80 countries shaping the global iGaming sector for 2020 and beyond. We have a fantastic line-up of speakers for conferences and workshops. We’ll be looking at topics including regulation and compliance, AI and blockchain in iGaming, payments and fintech, affiliates and CMOs, as well as disruptive innovation shaping the future of the industry.
Through 2019, the SiGMA Roadshow and iGathering events have served as an important link to the main SiGMA show in Malta, offering a conduit for traffic from crucial markets, such as Manila, New Jersey, New York, Lisbon, Amsterdam, Las Vegas, Tel Aviv and more, each providing insights and learnings for a variety of core iGaming areas, such as sports betting, affiliates, compliance, and casino. Each event includes service providers with expertise in key areas, so, for example, we had the key regulatory expert in New Jersey to inform those attending about the latest in legal, regulatory, and compliance issues relating to sports betting.
While we’ve been growing in Malta, we’re also expanding to other areas of the globe. Along with our satellite events around the world, bringing together operators, suppliers, and affiliates, SiGMA Group facilitates new business opportunities for the sector, and in June 2020 the SiGMA Group will launch its biggest ever show in Manila, the Philippines. Covering iGaming, land-based gaming, AI, blockchain, and emerging tech in general, SiGMA Manila will help bridge the divide between the iGaming and blockchain sectors in the east and west, and we hope to forge new opportunities for our clients as we open the doors to new markets.
Why should European clients be looking at Asia as a new market for iGaming?
There are so many new business opportunities, with European operators looking to expand eastwards, and suppliers in the local area keen to strike deals with western companies. In the coming years, we hope to expand into other emerging markets such as Africa and South America.
For now, Asia is the biggest emerging market for both the iGaming and blockchain industries. There’s so much opportunity for European brands to build on their success so far and take their services to new localities.
We’re encouraged to see so many delegates from Asian countries attending SiGMA’19, including Thailand, Korea, the Philippines, Japan and China. This absolutely validates our decision to co-locate our show to Manila in June 2020, and we’re looking forward to building new partnerships between east and west next year.
The 2020 super expo in Manila combines iGaming with the AI & Blockchain Summit. What are the reasons for this?
There’s so much synergy between the iGaming sector and the blockchain sector at the moment that it makes sense to bring these industries together in one location. In Manila, we will have the SiGMA expo held in the SMX Convention Centre, with the Manila AIBC Summit in the Conrad Hotel right next door.
In the coming years, we hope to expand into other emerging markets such as Africa and South America
From KYC and payments, to logistics and cryptocurrency casinos, there’s so many areas where iGaming companies and blockchain companies have common goals. Even with AI, the business processes in the iGaming sector can be streamlined and made more efficient, with player protection initiatives being one of the first to benefit – AI can more easily track player activities and determine when a player might be at risk, making the whole industry more transparent and better able to cope with regulatory compliance.
How does the regulatory environment look for the gaming sector, and have there been many changes in 2019?
In 2019, we’ve seen progress in how regulatory bodies collaborate with each other. The Malta Gaming Authority announced earlier this year a memorandum of understanding with the Swedish Gambling Authority, Spelinspektionen. There’s also been a tightening of restrictions from UKGC, which has caught some gaming companies off-guard, and resulted in some having to relocate from the UK, or simply to shut down their UK operations. For these reasons, it’s important that we put regulation issues at the forefront of our activities for SiGMA.
SiGMA Group’s relationships with regulatory bodies is an important part of the events we put on around the world – not just our main shows, but also the roadshows we host in different locations around the world.
Of course, we have a close relationship with the MGA and the government of Malta, and our SiGMA show this November will give a platform for the government to put a spotlight on the changing landscape for regulation in the iGaming sector.
Similarly, we are building a strong relationship with PAGCOR in the Philippines, with the idea being to provide a similar platform to start a conversation between Asian regulatory bodies and the companies looking to expand in Asian markets. It’s a crucial part of the process which cannot be overlooked when expanding operations to any part of the world.
How is SiGMA supporting start-ups in the iGaming space?
Start-ups are incredibly important to the future of the iGaming sector – they bring innovation and a new perspective to the industry, which is imperative to keep progress moving forward, and in attracting new players, such as the millennial audience.
At each of our events, SiGMA Group is committed to seeding growth in the iGaming landscape, through our successful Start-up Pitch activities. In Novembers show, we’re giving booths to 100 start-ups, with the 10 best battling it out in front of investors and industry leaders to win funding and support in the SiGMA Pitch event. It’s a huge opportunity for start-ups and investors to get in early and introduce new ideas to the iGaming industry.