The first day of the SiGMA Summit held in the Balkan region provided new perspectives on the gaming industry. The public had the opportunity to follow captivating conferences, tour the vibrant exhibition floor and participate in exciting networking events.
Ahead of the first day of the event, the SiGMA Awards Night celebrated the best in the industry in a gala evening with a premium guest. This evening generated the sum of €19,000 for charity in an auction held by Rick Goddard. Kelly Kellner, Poker Champion, and Marie Reyal of SiGMA, presented the gala ceremony, where notable figures from the gaming, technology and affiliation sectors were honored for their services to the industry.
Debates
Speakers discussed many topics relevant to the gaming world and the panels were divided into two shifts. The first part focused on the importance of regulation, compliance and AML. Speakers delved deeply into a broad discussion of the Balkans as the next hotspot in the iGaming segment.
The Balkans have seen a lot of activity related to iGaming regulation in recent years. During this discussion, speakers gave an overview of regulation in the Balkans, as well as what advances should be in progress to make the region a new gaming hub.
LOTTO24 AG Senior Public Policy Manager Jan Kretschmer raised the point that operators should do more to overcome deficiencies in AML and social responsibility and expressed that “operators should be the ones to approach customers when it comes to responsible gaming issues”.
On the same topic of discussion, Renel Dobre, Country Manager Central and Eastern Europe at OKTO stated: “People don’t self-exclude, they need help to do it right”.
SiGMA/AGS Startup Pitch
The forward-looking event also sought to provide beginners with a launching pad and the opportunity to gain attention during the Startup Pitch. Among the young creatives were the winners of the ‘Balkan Startup Winners’, who managed to outperform the stiff competition.
9Tales is a collectible card game that introduces a change in the dynamics of the game. This startup uses NFT technology to unlock a new era for competitive gaming. A compete to win paradigm is a new approach to gaming that combines the financial incentives of a game like Poker with the fun side of TCG games.
Othmane Safsafi, CEO da 9tales, explicou: “Nosso uso da tecnologia NFT e Blockchain não foi apenas baseado em chavões, mas em uma maneira realista de usá-los para melhorar a experiência do jogador”.
“Next year, the big highlight will be the launch of the game. So, let’s get it to as many players as possible, while trying to keep them. This will be our biggest challenge, but also our biggest achievement”, he concluded.
Centurion FC – Fighter Weigh-in
In between conference discussions, 18 fighters took the stage for the weigh-in in preparation for the highly anticipated event, Centurion FC. This Wednesday, the 24th, at KSC Pinki Zemun, the LEO Rudit tournament promises to bring the best of MMA to Belgrade.
The main contenders include Vlastislav “El Chapo” Cepo, a name known to all Balkan MMA fans, Jovan Marjanovic, a local MMA hero defending his 6-2 record, and Nikolay Grozdey, an up-and-coming fighter who is sure to will soon be in the top 10 in Europe.
SEO and Digital Marketing
With SEO emerging as an integral part of digital marketing, the MMA weigh-in was followed by the second part of the conference. The agenda focused on SEO and Digital Marketing. This set of dashboards provided the audience with a glimpse into what is in store for the SEO and Marketing worlds.
Need help during SiGMA Balkans?
If you need any help during these SiGMA Balkan days, be sure to stop by the Registration Helpdesk. Conference staff members and volunteers will be available to assist you physically and online through our live chat boxes.
After a very successful run, the next edition of the SiGMA Pitch returns for another round at the ‘Malta Week’. More than 100 startups will be selected to present their products and initiatives throughout the event. The top ten will compete for a valuable capital investment.
