Featured image by Luis Quintero via Pexels
When it comes to business conferences, you’ll find there are plenty of must-visits each year, depending on the industry you are involved in. Here, we focus on conferences for the gambling and gaming industries.
RELATED ARTICLE: GUIDE TO BASIC AV EQUIPMENT FOR A BUSINESS CONFERENCE
There is no denying that most industries have seen some changes in the way they operate over the last couple of years. Most events that involve large groups of people were canceled for at least a year if not longer.
Some events took place digitally, however. There were also plenty of virtual ways to meet new business contacts. But the truth is that most businesspeople welcome being able to return to in-person events. Take, for example, the recent ICE iGaming Conference and the turnout at that event.
Industry-Wide Business Conferences and Other Events
Another example is the iGB Affiliate conference. This conference is perfect for people who work in social gaming, bingo, gambling, eSports, and financial trading. The people who attend work in these industries and the exhibitions there focus on those industries. Similarly, the International Casinos Exhibition is another great industry event.
There are numerous business conferences and events for a range of other industries, too. For example, travel industries host plenty of events. These can range from large industry-wide caravanning events to special events for specific sectors of the travel industry.
If you look up a business events calendar, you’re likely to see events based on location, size of business, and industry. You will even find events for start-up businesses and entrepreneurs.
It can be a really good idea to visit a business conference that is specifically for your industry or local to you. Doing so will enable you to meet people with similar business interests. You can swap contact details and ideas and you may be able to support each other outside of the event.
Events So Far in 2022
We saw a modest return of some events in 2021. But it really is in 2022 that business conferences and networking events have started to return to normal.
In 2021 there were still restrictions around social distancing. This limited the number of people who could attend an event at one time. These restrictions caused some events to be fairly subdued, and it kept some people from attending.
But now, in the UK at least, there are now no Covid-19-related restrictions in place. This means that events can now return more or less to normal. In other words, schedules, exhibitions, and the number of people who can attend can be about the same as they were before the pandemic.
The gambling industry is one industry that definitely benefits from in-person networking events. This is why both the IGB Affiliate event and the ICE iGaming Conference that both took place in London in April 2022 were so popular.
The travel industry is another industry that benefits from getting people together to talk business. This is especially the case when it comes to international travel.
Much like gambling events, these can take place anywhere in the world. There have already been some successful travel industry events this year. For example, take Destination Australia in March 2022.
The Travel and Tourism Expo is also returning this year. This is a big event on the travel industry calendar, and this year it will take place in November 2022. People will certainly be looking forward to that being an in-person networking event again. Many travel industry professionals are sure to be there.
Business Networking Within the Gambling Industry
In order for the gambling and iGaming industries to be successful, they rely on the services of a handful of other industries. For this reason, gambling industry business conferences and other in-person events bring together a wide range of businesses related to iGaming.
One good example is the payments industry. Naturally, this industry has close links to the gaming and gambling industries. This is because it services users in a secure and fast manner by using a fast payout casino, for example.
Software developers, mobile phone app builders, security software providers, financial platform creators, and even social media influencers all help to make up the gambling industry. All of them contribute to the smooth running of services within this industry. As such, an event that helps to bring together all of these individuals to discuss what they can bring to the gambling industry can be a positive thing.
For example, the ICE conference, which took place in April 2022, had a number of guest speakers and exhibitions from people across the gambling industry.
For example, the following professionals were there:
- Andre Reina – Product Lead at TrueLayer
- Andy Taylor – Senior Regulatory Policy Executive at Committee of Advertising Practice
- Anna Sainsbury – CEO at GeoComply
- Elena Rousseva – SEO at Playtech Managed Services
There were also a number of authorities in attendance from related industries and from countries around the world.
RELATED ARTICLE: THE BEST GAMBLING STOCKS TO INVEST IN THIS YEAR
The Future of Business Conferences and Networking Events
For many people, the years without business conferences reinforced in their minds that having these networking events is a good thing. After attending them people tend to feel motivated and inspired. They’re ready to take away some of the things they learn at an event and implement these things in their own businesses. What’s more, meeting people in the same industry and sharing knowledge and experiences can help to boost what you know about the industry as well.
With the success of these two events and many others like them in 2022, it is unlikely that business conferences and networking events like these will disappear anytime soon. However, we did also learn lessons from the time when these events couldn’t take place in person. This has helped to shape these events, too.
For example, we know that there will be times when people can’t attend an event in person. However, they still want to be able to benefit from the knowledge and experiences others share.
So most in-person events now make sure to live stream conferences during the event. At the very least, they place them online afterward so people can watch via video after the event has ended.
For many events, the option to attend virtually or watch certain talks from home has helped to open up their accessibility. It helps to ensure that as many people can attend as possible. This can only be a positive thing.
RELATED ARTICLE: HOW FREELANCERS AND SMBS CAN USE EVENTS TO DRIVE BUSINESS