Post Event: Mare Balticum Gaming Summit 2018 sets industry milestone for boutique gaming events in the Baltics

Riga – 30 May 2018 – The inaugural edition of Mare Balticum Gaming Summit took place in Riga at Astor Riga on the 8^th of May, 2018.

The conference was received with great interest by the local industry and we can confirm that well over 80% of the attending delegates were from companies based in Latvia, Lithuania or Estonia.

As per attendance, the event was sold out and 70 C-level delegates have gained access into the contents of the information which was shared by the local regulators and experts of the industry.

We would like to extend special thanks to the sponsors of the event, as without their commitment to a fair industry environment, the event wouldn’t have been possible to organize. The gratitude goes to SBTech as Registration Sponsor, BetConstruct as Lanyards and Badge Sponsor and the Estonian branch of Tal Ron, Drihem & Co. Law Firm as Legal Sponsors.

Pieter Remmers (Assissa) stated that that the conference was “A very good industry focused event with lots of attention to the individual participant.”

The agenda kicked off with the first two panels being moderated by Andrius Gabnys (Managing partner. Attorney-at-Law at Gabnys Law Firm), who was joined by Valts Nerets (Senior Associate at Sorainen Latvia) Taivo Põrk (Ministry of Finance, Estonia) and by Janis Laganovskis (Lotteries and Gambling Supervisory Inspection, Republic of Latvia).

Andrius started the introduction by welcoming everyone and he stressed on the fact the region finally has a true dedicated event which works like a platform for learning and networking for industry within the Baltics.

The panelist have shared valuable information about the currently licensed operators and have also expressed their overviews about some possible amendments in the near future.

The audio recording of the panel discussion can be accessed only by the registered delegates.

The discussions continued with the second panel, which has focused exclusively on the Lithuanian market and was presented by Renata Beržanskienė (Attorney-at-Law) and Lolita Šumskaitė (Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania).

The audio recording of the panel discussion can be accessed only by the registered delegates.

“I strongly believe that the region – Baltic States and beyond – has been an unfortunate gap in the industry media and events coverage for quite a long time. Zoltan and Betty were bold enough to make the first true dedicated gambling forum in the region and from my experience in Mare Balticum Gaming Summit it turned out to be a very good idea.

Smooth organization, accurately selected panels, convenient and cozy venue. A very strong foundation for another successful series of events for European Gaming Media and Events.”

Andrius Gabnys (Managing partner. Attorney-at-Law at Gabnys Law Firm)

The program continued with the first networking break of the day and the delegates got the chance to networking with the local and international industry representatives.

The education was resumed with a “Fireside chat” between Birgitte Sand (Director, Danish Gambling Authority) and Pieter Remmers (Assissa) who have highlighted some of the recent developments of Responsible Gambling projects around Europe and especially in Denmark and Holland.

As the two experts in the field or Responsible Gambling and Regulation have concluded the short panel, Tal Itzhak Ron (Tal Ron, Drihem and Co. Law Firm) has stepped up to introduce the panelist of a special Innovation Talks Live sessions. The panel focused on the innovations of the gambling industry in 2018 and was presented by Max Krupyshev (Head of Crypto business at Cubits), Joakim Renman (Commercial Director at Scout Gaming Group), Satenik Danielyan (Head of Gaming Operations at BetConstruct), Kirill Bykov (Founder of BetOnChart) and Assaf Stieglitz (Founder odds1x2.com), who each have brought insights from their verticals.

After the panelists have given some interesting topics to talk about when it comes to innovation in the industry, the delegates have been invited to attend a complimentary networking lunch where they had the opportunity to both network and enjoy a healthy meal. The complimentary lunch will give you the break you need before continuing the day and will delight your lingual papillae. Beside the Latvian dishes you will have the opportunity to enjoy vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options as well.

The second part of the day has introduced more “trending topics”, among which the panel discussion which was dedicated to GDPR.

The panel was titled as “Countdown to GDPR – The iminent changes GDPR bring to the industry” and was moderated by Tal Itzhak Ron (Tal Ron, Drihem and Co. Law Firm). The panelist have pointed out some clear facts about the much debated law which is currently already in force.

Dr. Dennis Voigt (Partner at Melchers Law), Jaka Repansek (RePublis d.o.o.), Boaz Gam (CEO at PaynetEasy Technologies Limited) and Genia (Evgeni) Gurevitz (Head of Baltics and Singapore Operations at Tal Ron, Drihem & Co., Law Firm) has given their insights and shared their experiences with clients about the implementation of GDPR.

The second “Fireside chat” started right after the panel discussion and had experts Dr. Joerg Hoffman (Melchers Law Germany) and David Lommatzsch (Managing Director of the German Online Casino Associations (DOCV)) sharing their insights about the German market.

Dr. Joerg Hoffman has pointed out many times, that Germany will write history this year in the gambling industry and some major changes are expected to come this autumn.

The audio recording of the panel discussion can be accessed only by the registered delegates.

Both “Fireside chats” were rated among the most interesting additions of the event.

After the short panel ended, the delegates were invited for second networking session of the event to refresh before the IMGL MasterClass.

The final panel discussion of the event was the IMGL MasterClass which debated “The state of the industry in Denmark and Sweden” between experts such as Morten Ronde (CEO of the Danish Online Gambling Association), Gustaf Hoffstedt (Secretary General of BOS – the Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling), Sissel Weitzhandler (Group Compliance Manager at Play’n Go), Birgitte Sand (Director, Danish Gambling Authority). The panel was moderated by Dr. Joerg Hoffman (Melchers Law Germany) and was rated as the most interesting panel of the event.

The audio recording of the panel discussion can be accessed only by the registered delegates.

“It was an honour taking part of the Mare Balticum Gaming Summit in Riga last week. The agenda and topics were extremely relevant, as demonstrated by the high level of interest and the entire event was very well organised. It was an absolute pleasure to take part of a forum so well attended by regulators, legal experts, industry representatives and operators where ideas and lessons can be shared and learned. I would like to thank the organisers, the individual panels including my distinguished fellow panellists. I hope to be back again as I believe this is an event one should not miss.”

Sissel Weitzhandler (Group Compliance Manager at Play’n Go)

The official program ended at 17:30 and delegates have been invited for the final networking session of the event, which was the official networking party.

The relaxing networking session was held at Kwakinn Riga where delegates got the chance to exchange business card and enjoy some beers from the over 50 types of beer on the menu.

“I can honestly say that Mare Balticum Gaming Summit held in Riga met the expectations and was fulfilled with great panel discussions, industry reports, and amazing professionals from the gaming industry.
The format was something special, felt like a close group of friends discussing a wide range of challenges that the industry should be aware of. It was a blast!”

Valters Garais (Pocket Games Soft)

Based on the survey which was sent out to all delegates who attended the inaugural event, the conference was highly rated and recommended. Among the questions of the survey, delegates were asked about where the second edition of conference should be held and in which period.

The location and the dates of Mare Balticum Gaming Summit 2019, the second edition of the yearly event, will be confirmed soon!

Visit www.marebalticumgaming.com (official website of the event) for more details or watch this space.