There are dozens of events related to iGaming happening all across the world. Most of them are conventions – large gatherings where various iGaming companies such as online casinos, games providers and others can set up booths and demonstrate their services in the hopes of acquiring contacts within the industry and catching the eye of the visitors. After all, in a business that’s so competitive, brand recognition can make all the difference, so getting your name out there as much as possible is very important. But it’s not just conventions – conferences and lectures are also very common. iGaming is a very young, untested business, and while it does borrow a lot from gambling philosophies and Internet growth, it’s also very much its own thing, and we’re still figuring out how to make it successful. Conferences are a great way to get new knowledge from some of the industry leaders as well as discuss various topics of interest that are relevant now or may be in the future. Last, but not least, are all the special events, such as dinners, breakfasts and all sorts of other things that may or may not involve food. These are going to be very unique, so we’ll try to give you more information on them than the others, if at all possible. With that said, we’ll also try to keep the list up to date, removing events that have passed and adding new ones as we learn about them. If you spot any inconsistencies, then by all means please contact us!
Name: Pubcon Las Vegas 2015
Type: Conference
Date: October 5th – October 9th
Location: Las Vegas
Website: Pubcon
If you’ve even vaguely considered starting your own iGaming business, be it an online casino, an online betting site or anything of this sort, then reserve your ticket to Vegas right this second because this is where you need to be, alright? No, no, I don’t want to hear your excuses – the 5 day long press conference (certified as a “must-attend” event by Forbes, and we love Forbes) is going to be helmed by people who really know their stuff when it comes to online businesses. We’re talking practical advice on how to use social media, online marketing and search engine to your advantage, and that’s just three of the topics that will be presented (in over 100 presentations, which I’m actually not sure how they can all fit within a 5-day period, so you might need to pick and choose). As far as I can tell, while many of the presenters have dipped their toes in iGaming, none of the sessions will be specifically aimed towards that, but really, it doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, even if your online casino is flawless, your game selection – great and your interface – the most user-friendly of all, without knowing how to exploit the Internet to your advantage and really put yourself out there you’re never going to make it. So despite not talking about iGaming much, in a way this is the most important event you can possibly attend.
Name: Healys iGaming Breakfast Briefing
Type: Conference
Date: October 15th
Location: London
Brace yourselves, winter is coming! And by winter I mean new data protection legislations. As it turns out, a new regulation will be enacted by the EU and will replace the current UK laws on the matter. As such, the requirements for companies in the online gambling and betting industry will change, which… Yeah, I guess it’s a pretty safe bet to say will affect things. As far as I can understand, the changes mostly relate to how customers’ personal information is being kept within the casino’s servers – in most casinos the information is stored permanently for reference and metrics purposes, but according to this new legislation customers will now have the right to completely erase their personal details from the servers, which might lead to a necessary change in architecture for some casinos and betting sites. Of course, I’m a writer and not a programmer, so I have absolutely no clue what any of this means in practice, and I assume that I’m not alone. That’s why this conference is being called – to make sure that everyone is aware of exactly what these new laws will mean for them and how they will need to adapt, if at all.
Name: EiG 2015
Type: Conference/Convention
Date: October 20th – October 22nd
Location: Berlin
Website: EiG Expo
Often you have to choose between the informativeness of a conference and the fun of a convention. If you live in or near Berlin, though, you don’t need to. EiG (Excellence in iGaming) used to be one of the biggest iGaming conferences in the world, but this year they’re trying to shake things up a bit and occupy the positively gigantic Arena Halle in order to have a bona fide convention. It goes without saying that everyone who’s anyone in the iGaming business is going to be there, with their own booth and, most likely, their own presentation. We’re talking online casinos and providers, obviously, but also affiliates, digital agencies and other people who make the iGaming market keep rolling. Aside from attending the press conferences and walking around the showfloor, EiG will also have several networking and social events in order to give attendees a chance to meet and make connections. As far as I could see, the entire event will be in English (kind of a necessity, given the sheer amount of international VIP attendees), so if you have the chance to visit it and your English is good (which I assume it is, I mean, hey, you ARE reading an English online publication), then you must definitely go. As the great Shia Labeouf once said, “DO IT! JUST DO IT!”