Emerging markets with Gabor Helembai (Hungary) and Jaka Repansek (Slovenia) during CEEGC 2017 Budapest

The organizers of CEEGC2017 are excited to announce the first two speaker in the long lineup they have prepared for the second edition of the Central and Eastern European Gaming Conference. An event which is going to take place between 19-20 September at the Kempinski Corvinus Budapest.

“Hungary on the verge to regulate the online gambling market” is the title of Mr. Gábor Helembai’s presentation and the topic is currently being a focus point of the industry.

The Hungarian online and land based gambling market has been the debate of many years and we are now witnessing a tipping point at which the Hungarian government has to make a choice.

The Court of Justice of the European Union has made a ruling this June against Hungary. The official press releases stated that, “The Hungarian legislation on the authorization of online games of chance is not compatible with the principle of the freedom to provide services,” However, this was awaited by the suing party (Unibet), but nobody has expected that the Hungarian Parliament will not comment on this.

Sometimes these silences coming from the regulators are usually a sign of planning and we might see a huge change in the current legislation of Hungary which revolves around online gambling. Especially since 2018 will be an election year in Hungary which might halt all important manners on the agenda.

The Hungarian gambling market will be among the main points of focus in the “Where is the Central European gambling industry heading?” panel, scheduled to be held between 14:00 – 15:30 (Budapest Local Time) on the 19th of September (Day 1) during the second edition of the Central and Eastern European Gaming Conference Budapest.

Gábor is a Senior Associate in the Corporate and Commercial teams in the Budapest office of Bird & Bird. He advises on both domestic and cross-border transactions and investments in various industries. He has a special sector focus on gaming/betting, advising major online and land-based operators, and slot machine manufacturers on regulatory matters.

Gábor has represented clients in negotiating a concession agreement with the Hungarian State, assisted different clients from non-gaming industries in their gaming related matters (e.g. promotional games), and supported clients in transaction matters in the gaming sector.

“Slovenia’s gambling market among the most stable markets” is the title of Mr. Jaka Repansek’s presentation and the topic is awaited by numerous operators that have shown their interest to attending the event.

In 2017 we have seen many operators withdrawing from the Slovenian online gambling market and this can all account for the new national gambling framework which has come into for on the 1st of April. As Slovenia’s gambling market is slowly turning into a highly lucrative one, it seems that large operators have decided to exit first in order to apply for a license in the regulated market.

Slovenia has always attracted big industry names, particularly ones offering online poker and under the proposed amendments, international operators are able to apply for licenses to provide online gambling services to local customers. However, sports betting and lottery operations will still fall under the state monopoly.

The Slovenian gambling market will be among the main points of focus in the “Where is the Central European gambling industry heading?” panel, scheduled to be held between 14:00 – 15:30 (Budapest Local Time) on the 19th of September (Day 1) during the second edition of the Central and Eastern European Gaming Conference Budapest. (you can view the full agenda here)

Jaka Repansek LL.B, MBA, is the founder and managing partner of RePublis d.o.o., a Slovenian based legal and business consulting firm. He has been working for various TIME (Telecom, Internet, Media, Entertainment) companies since 1996. He is recognized as one of the leading experts on gaming and media law in Slovenia. After graduating from Greenwood High School (Springfield, Missouri, USA) in 1992, Jaka graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
He gained his graduate degree from Cambridge University in England and Faculty of Law in Ljubljana (Diploma in European Community Law) and completed two-year MBA graduate studies at the University of Kansas in USA. Jaka is an active member of IMGL (Slovenia) and a member of several other domestic and international organizations and is active also as lecturer in various seminars and conferences.

How to secure your seat?

Early Bird Rate is set for 299 EUR an can be booked with the 50% discount until September the 3rd, 2017. Limited seating! (Online payment, Bitcoin or Bank Wire Available)

Register here: https://ceegc.eu/registration/

*25 operators can attend the event for free! Contact the organizers for more details
*Please note: The 25 free seats can be booked until 01.08.2017 and are based on the first come first serve basis.

For more details visit the official website, www.ceegc.eu or contact the organizers directly by email ([email protected]) or by phone (0040 735 559 234).

Watch this space for more interesting updates about #CEEGC2017Budapest