What were the highlights of iGB Live! 2022?

I’m delighted to say that we can reflect on a number of really significant highlights. Obviously from a numbers perspective we’ve had our strongest show ever. iGB Live! broke through the symbolic 5,000 figure for the first time. The final attendance of 5,022 represented a 7% increase on the previous best set in 2019 and was a 31% uplift on 2021 when we became the first major gaming industry event to return after Covid. 

iGB Live! 2022 not only attracted a senior audience of decision-makers with 56% being part of the final decision-making group, but also a new audience which plays extremely well in terms of our future development. 32% were attending iGB Live! for the first time, 12% were start-up businesses and 8% were new to gaming. It was a busy and dynamic show floor full of energy and optimism and all of the feedback confirms that a great amount of business was completed.

We know how important it is to our stakeholders to participate in a content-rich event and I think this year was a case study in great content expertly delivered. We had outstanding feature areas including an eSports Speedrunning competition, a Slots area, a 46-speaker Conference Programme plus two in-depth Masterclasses. It was busy, exciting and the feedback from our customers has been overwhelmingly positive. Having the largest audience ever coming to meet, network and do business with the highest number of igaming suppliers and affiliate programmes is a fantastic outcome. My job and that of the iGB Live! team is to harness all of the positives and use the experience to continue to build and grow the iGB Live! brand.

As organizers, what have been the greatest challenges when planning the show, and how do you evaluate the result? Have your goals been achieved?

We ran the first large scale post-covid iGaming event in September 2021 and it was great to bring people back together in their preferred method of doing business which is face-to-face.  Returning to our July date reduced the period between editions and our challenge was to return to pre-pandemic targets, grow in terms of size and scale and increase visitation.

We have a duty of care to our customers which involved reassuring them about health and safety undertakings at the same time as providing them with inspiration and insight. We achieved this by being transparent in our communications, using all of the iGB channels to keep in constant contact and keep them fully informed of all developments both on and off the show floor. In terms of results and our goals, the attendance figures tell part of the story as does the anecdotal feedback that the team received on-site and post show. We will analyse the findings of the independent research that we commissioned to establish what went well, where we need to improve and where the opportunities are. I always believe that the real benefit of research is when it reveals a problem. It should never be used as a vanity exercise and should never result in complacency. I’m more interested in shining a light on where we went wrong so we can put it right next year!

What were the key issues discussed at the iGB Conference?

The Conference programme is incredibly important to our delegates who as I said in an earlier answer want a content rich experience. iGB Live 2022 succeeded in bringing together a large number of industry influencers and thought leaders to share their insight. We were extremely honoured to host Ernie Stevens, Chairman of the Indian Gaming Association and Victor Rocha, Editor/President of Pechanga.net/Victor Strategies. Delegates learned at first-hand about Tribal Casinos, which are responsible for more than half of US gaming revenues and hold the keys to market access in many North American states that are either already regulated or on the cusp of being regulated. This part of the Conference programme explained how the commitment to community rather than shareholders underpins the vision of tribal gaming and how partnership strategies are critical to achieving market entry.

Delegates received an update delivered by Chris Harrison, Google’s Industry Head – Financial Trading and EGaming. There were panels dedicated to mobile UX in the US market, an examination of how Ontario’s restrictive model can inspire more creative and loyalty-building marketing for other regulated markets and a debate on the UK’s gambling Whitepaper. We also explored the prospect of stake limits on online slots, the dangers of pushing customers into the unregulated black market, the latest advertising restrictions in the Netherlands, Gamification, AI, Metaverse, NFTs, Crypto, Blockchain and how iGaming can make the most out of social media.  Our delegates want strong, topical and fresh content delivered by experts, and the iGB Live! conference programme certainly ticked all of those boxes. If you add the 3-hour deep-dive Masterclass on Advanced SEO and the workshop which provided a step-by-step guide demonstrating to small and medium sized affiliates how to cost-effectively make and win an affiliate application in the United States - you have what was among the two most informative days of the year.

Do you have the dates for the next edition next year?

The 2023 edition of iGB Live! will take place across 11-14^th July at the Amsterdam RAI. I hope to see you and your readers there!