During the sixth edition of SiGMA, more than 400 sponsors and exhibitors, 200 industry-leading speakers and a record of 15,000 attendees from more than eighty countries met in Malta at the end of November. From the organization of the event they recognized that it was the largest edition to date.
“With live gaming and eye-catching stand designs, the expo floor was a feast for the senses. Exhibitors brought a global flavour to the summit, showcasing cutting-edge games and software, offering innovative industry solutions, and bringing crucial networking opportunities to delegates looking to make next-level connections and deals. With energy high throughout the three-day-event, the expo floor was definitely the place to be for delegates looking to mix business with pleasure,” said Eman Pulis, founder and CEO of SiGMA Group.
A series of six thought-provoking conferences and workshops offered a mixture of knowledge sharing and fierce debate from some of the best minds in the industry. From finance and blockchain solutions, to tackling the brain drain in the HR and Careers conference, to regulation and compliance across jurisdictions both new and old, to eSports and sportsbook, the event took a 360 degree look at the iGaming sector.
On the other hand, the annual SiGMA Start-Up Pitch also brought investment opportunities and sound business advice to start-ups looking to gain a foothold in the industry, as they battled it out for the top prize. A fiercely-fought battle saw Bethereum, the blockchain social betting platform, crowned as winner.
The Malta Gaming Awards brought glitz and glamour to the official launch of SiGMA 2019 at the elegant Hilton hotel in St. Julian’s, with an evening of fine dining and entertainment. Presented by SiGMA’s own Jessica Walker and Jon Thompson, the evening kicked off with a heartfelt speech from SiGMA Group Chief Philanthropy Officer, Keith Marshall.
While the days were jam-packed with activity, the evenings definitely did not disappoint. The organization pulled out all the stops to bring the best in entertainment and networking, from luxury iGathering dinners, to a Betting on Boxing joust, and a sunset cruise, there was plenty of after dark events in the SiGMA calendar to keep attendees busy. A closing night party hosted by Fashion TV Gaming Group, Pragmatic Play and VideoSlots ended the summit in style.
“This sixth edition of our iGaming summit showed the continued success of the sector and confirmed our status as the biggest online gaming event on the European calendar. The event gave our Asian visitors a taste of what they can expect in Manila for SiGMA 2020,” Pulis concluded.
Latin America was present in Malta
The footprint of the Latin American gaming industry was noted during the three days of the event. A representative of the Colombian trade show GAT Gaming & Technology Expo (formerly FADJA) fulfilled the agenda of the planned meetings, visiting exhibitor stands and checking the enormous interest that the markets of Colombia and Mexico arouse in online gaming in Latin America.
Natalia Moreno, Senior Advisor of the organizing company of GAT Expo, traveled by delegation of José Aníbal Aguirre, CEO of 3A Producciones. She achieved the participation of new companies and was able to take the temperature of expectations and enthusiasm to attend Cartagena de Indias in April 2020, when GAT Expo features its 22th version, premiering name and venue.
In terms of debate, Director of iGaming and New Product Strategy at BMM, Filippo Ferri, spoke on the panel “New Frontier: Latin America Regulatory Update”, where he take a deep dive into the regulatory opportunities and risks within the continent ecosystem, as this budding market flexes its jurisdictional muscles into new territories.
In the conference, Moreno Roldan concluded that Colombia is one of the countries that offers full guarantees to investors in search of strategic alliances for online gaming: “Colombia is without any discussion, the leading country in South America in regulation and legal security in iGaming. There are local partners with sports betting sufficiency, now also able to include virtual games on their platforms, a situation that is very attractive for international suppliers.”
Ingrid Alvarado Lopez, from Colombia’s gambling regulatory body Coljuegos detailed the regulatory process and underlining the importance for any market to be strongly regulated. Alvarado Lopez commented on the success of the legislative framework that Colombia has adopted, and how this has had a positive impact in the local industry’s exponential growth throughout the past year.
Also, BtoBet’s Chief Executive Officer, underlined the region’s potential and opportunities for local and international operators and indicated the importance for operators to have good knowledge about the stratification of the local market: “While broad similarities exist between betting markets across the world, if you’re going to make it big in Latin America you have to know the differences, whether they be practical, such as language and culture, or subtler, such as gambling preferences and domestic approaches.”
New products, presentations and agreements
AvatarUX Studios has taken its first steps into the casino supplier market after a successful launch event during SiGMA 2019 week. One of the original partner studios of Yggdrasil’s YGS Masters programme, the provider has ambitious plans to produce titles with Asian-influenced art and innovative game mechanics, developed from its Hong Kong office.
The Malta Gaming Authority granted its approval for BetConstruct, to supply its live casino games to the MGA licensed operators and B2C customers. The company views the country as one of the key jurisdictions. Receiving a certification from it powers the company to extend its scope of operation by offering a unique live casino to both local operators and those who also work under the approval from MGA.
iSoftBet opened a new Malta hub days before the exhibition, less than two months after being awarded a B2B software licence by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA). The office, located in the North Business Center in Sliema, houses iSoftBet’s rapidly growing data team who provide the company with powerful data-driven insights, alongside local account managers who will be able to liaise directly with Malta-based customers.
High 5 Games (H5G) also opened a new office in Malta to support its ongoing international strategy of expanding its presence across Europe. Ahead of SiGMA 2019, the New York-based developer moved into a facility in Sliema, which will house various departments including account management, business development and games design and production. Creating this new office in one of the iGaming industry’s most established hubs will allow MGA-licensed H5G to build on its recent momentum of expanding its reach across the European market.
For R. Franco Digital, the imminent grant of a license in Malta generated great expectation and constituted another incentive, giving rise to the numerous assistant team of the company having developed an enormous work attending to a large group of visitors and customers, far superior to from previous editions, with the result of an increase in agreements with operators and customers higher than expected.
During the gathering, Hacksaw Gaming announced a new partnership with operator Royal Panda after the two companies agreed a distribution deal. This has all been made possible via the Relax Gaming platform. Games such as Stick ‘Em, OmNom and Miami Multiplier are live in all territories in which Royal Panda operates, including UK and Germany.
Also, Paddy Power Betfair signed a content provider agreement with MGA Games. Following the agreement, MGA Games titles shall be available on Paddy Power Betfair’s platform.
Endorphina’s Head of Marketing Department, Maria Bashkevich, concluded: “SiGMA 2019 was on a completely higher level and was a great ending to a year of exhibitions for the year. Based on the very positive feedback, I can say that we’ve managed to bring a new and stronger dose of endorphins to our guests and make them feel the real vibe of Endorphina. Personally, I was amazed at the amount of good emotions, productive meetings and fantastic opportunities that SiGMA gave us this year. On behalf of the team, I would like to sincerely thank all of our visitors, exhibitors, and organizers for making this exhibition such an incredible event to be part of.”
