“Digital conferences will play a key role in the communication in the industry during the upcoming months”

A multitude of senior executives are to form a key component of the inaugural SBC Digital Summit which commences next week, with a high-profile speaker line-up prepared for day two’s ‘Leadership in Gaming’ track.

Taking place on Tuesday 28 April from 9:15am-3:00pm (UK) as one of seven tracks assessing the key opportunities for the sector, delegates will hear from the gaming industry’s leading CEOs about how they are dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak and beyond.

Following a keynote the day gets underway with ‘Gaming – The Industry’s Lifeline’, in a panel that includes Alexander Stevendahl (CEO, Videoslots), Itai Zak (CEO, GoWild Gaming) and Ivan Filletti, “COO, Gaming Malta).

As experts prepare to share their knowledge across a variety of discussion areas ‘Poker to the Rescue?’ is to look into what the vertical has to offer the modern bettor and will feature insight from Dmitry Starostenkov (CEO Evenbet Gaming) and Ivonne Montealegre (founder & event director, Malta Poker Festival).

One of the day’s key sessions is to address safer gambling during isolation and the drastic change that customer behaviour is currently undergoing, featuring Martin Lycka (director of regulatory affairs, GVC Holdings), David Williams (director of regulatory affairs, Rank Group), Avigail Nir (COO, Mansion Casino) and Andy Danson (Partner, Bird & Bird)

Lycka commented: “Online offerings, such as the SBC Digital Summit, are a welcome opportunity to exchange ideas on the latest regulatory and other developments in the industry, including those resulting from the testing times of late. 

“The SBC Digital Summit will bring together a lot of talent from across the industry, which I’m certain will demonstrate our resilience and responsibility in response to the crisis. I guess the Summit will also break most people’s home isolation routines consisting in alternatively taking calls from the kitchen and the lounge.”

Williams said: “If the industry believed that the scrutiny it was facing from media and political quarters was severe before the pandemic, COVID-19 made everyone think again. Operators are facing up to the challenges of delivering strategic, well-intentioned plans using a dispersed and often reduced workforce, whilst also rolling out emergency measures, and all set against an expectation in some quarters that we will make fewer mistakes. 

“In spite of this challenging backdrop, the opportunities for the industry to showcase its authenticity and the rewards for doing stuff right are enormous; a host of regulatory issues are rattling down the post-pandemic line and when we are asked to show how we responded when the time came, our ability to answer decisively and with an enlightened view of our role in society could set the tone of the discussion for years to come.”  

The day will continue with an examination of live casino during lockdown with the vertical’s place during the current climate dissected, boasting insights from Karolina Pelc (owner, Basic Strategy), Jeremy Taylor (MD, Genting Online) and Richard Atkinson (head of live casino, William Hill).

Jan Urbanec (CEO, Endorphina), alongside Ewa Kazmierska (COO, EnergyCasino) and James Bennett (director, Square in the Air), continue by looking into ‘Marketing Slots in the new Environment’.

“Digital conferences will play a key role in the communication in the industry during the upcoming months,” Urbanec stated. “The defining factor of their success will be the format, organisation, and innovative approach to networking.”

The day will be rounded off a session conducted in Spanish titled ‘España, Operación Puesta en Marcha – La Ejecución de la Estrategia,’ exploring the make-up of the jurisdiction from the role of casino to communication strategies.

Stewart Darkin, MD of CasinoBeats, noted: “As the sector comes to terms with a new reality that is affecting all working practices and verticals, the SBC Digital Summit is the perfect opportunity for the gaming industry to come together and assess the new landscape.

“Accordingly, the gaming track deals with some familiar themes in a new way but also specifically addresses the challenge presented by the COVID-19 crisis, as the sector looks to its leaders – so many of whom are contributing to the Summit.”

The SBC Digital Summit runs from 27 April to 1 May 2020 and features six other conference tracks focused on Leadership in Betting, Latin America, lotteries, payments, the US market and digital marketing.

The thousands of delegates logging in from around the world can also take in a virtual exhibition featuring the latest offerings from the betting and gaming industry’s most innovative suppliers, attend the numerous product demos and special webinars at the exhibition booths, and make valuable new contacts in the virtual networking lounges.

Find full details of the SBC Digital Summit, including information about how to register and discounts available on company group passes at the event’s official website: https://sbcevents.com/sbc-digital-summit/.

To enquire about sponsorship opportunities or exhibiting at the event, please contact [email protected].