The Eastern European Gaming Summit has once again led the technological trends in the gaming business
The traditional Eastern European Gaming Summit (EEGS) held on the end of November, in Inter Expo Center, Sofia, for the 8th consecutive year became a hot spot for discussions and current gaming trends presentations. Experts, professionals, international associations representatives from offline and online gaming and tourism industry as well as national regulators from around the world chose Sofia in order to discuss the latest trends and topics of the gaming industry. EEGS is organized by the Bulgarian Trade Association of Manufacturers and Operators in the gaming industry (BTAMOGI) and since its first edition in 2008 it has become a networking and discussion nexus in Eastern Europe.
„We found it a fruitful event and as we move into new markets it is very valuable to meet potential partners at EEGS.“, said David Johnson, Commercial Director, NYX.
At the first day of the conference international experts in the industry presented key regulatory changes and reforms from Western and Eastern Europe. The Protection against fraud and money laundering pannel where leading representatives of international associations presented the 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive(AMLD) and its implementation for gambling establishments caught the attention of the audience.
The second part of the conference day was covered by the challenges and prospectives of the gaming industry development in the Eastern Europe followed by the current Responsible Gaming topic referring also to the players protection from gambling addiction where good practices from countries as Romania and Bulgaria were disclosed.
The convergence between land-based and online gaming were also a matter of great interest with a special support by the speakers from one of the leading companies in the industry as follows: Dr. Angelo Dalli, Co-founder and CEO of Bit8, Lydia Barbara, Head of Pegasus Gaming Solutions (Microgaming), James Illingworth, Director of European Business Development, GLI as well as Konrad Gill, iGaming Director at Casino Technology Interactive. They gave useful ideas for those who plan to start an online business. Traditionally, at the first day of the conference the Regulators Round Table under the patronage of the Bulgarian State Comission on Gambling was held with a rich participation from the following countries: Portugal, Litva, Malta, Gibraltar, Oland island and Bulgaria where they had the chance to discuss the best practises in the regulatory framework as well as the industry’s trends from the regulators’ point of view.
In the second day of the conference the trends in sports betting product verticals were highlighted, as well as the most interesting poker matters and what are the perspectives in changing its decline. The mobile games as an instrument for attracting the so-called Millenial Generation were covered in the pannel dedicated to the gaming industry’s evolution. Focusing on the gambling tourism and its current perspectives, the researcher from Macao Carlos Siu Lam attracted the audience and all delegates with interesting examples from the Asian gambling capital.
Highlights of EEGS 2015
- As a preceding event was held the traditional EEGS Masterclass, which this year was on the topic “Casino Marketing & Communications” with Arjan Korstjens;
- In the scope of the panel discussions were presented the latest legislation updates from European countries, fraud prevention and money laundering, IMGL Masterclass, top challenges which the Eastern European industry is facing, the advantages and myths about the convergence between land-based and online gaming, measures and examples for responsible gambling and interactive discussions on how to enhance customer experience in both land-based and online operations;
- The second day of the forum was devoted to various topics such as gaming and tourism marketing, Global Gaming Women networking initiative, social and mobile gaming, the rise of eSports and virtual sports in sports betting sector and insights from mature markets in poker;
- The 8th edition of EEGS marked the launch of the Gaming StartUp Challenge – a competition for bold and innovative ideas of new companies in the Eastern Europe gaming sector;
Speakers
