With one of the world’s most active and lucrative gambling industries, Australia is host to a packed roster of gaming events and awards ceremonies throughout the year. These events present ample opportunities for the showcasing of new products, innovations, and services and to network with other industry folks.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority also takes advantage of these events to publicise its proposals and intentions.
Physical events, which have been sparse of late, offer players the chance to engage in face-to-face interactions with the companies and individuals that produce their favourite content and services.
Whether you are looking to exhibit your product or service or simply attend to expand your knowledge of the gambling industry and its upcoming innovations, there are numerous events taking place across the country over the coming year and we have listed the most notable happenings for you to slot into your annual planner.
Australasian Gaming Expo (AGE)
One of Australia’s most important iGaming events is up first. The AGE is Supported by the Australasian Gaming Council and draws 6,000 attendees from the online and offline gaming sectors. The first AGE event ever happened in 1990, coinciding with the beginning of the rise of online gambling in Europe. The event’s 30 -year history has solidified its place as a mainstay among the nation’s enthusiasts, developers, and operators.
The 2021 event is scheduled to take place at the ICC Sydney between 10 and 12 August. There will be over 240 exhibitors from all the various sub-sectors of the Australian iGaming industry, including such notable names as Aristocrat, Ainsworth, IGT, Konami, Scientific Games, Aruze, and Banktech
With the participants’ list growing daily, serious anticipation is growing for the expo’s August launch date.
EGR Australia Summit
Similar to the Australasian Gaming Expo, the EGR Australia Summit is a showcase for the cream of the crop of the country’s gaming industry. This does not mean that this event doesn’t have its own unique characteristics.
The EGR event focuses exclusively on the online gambling sector and provides a space for stakeholders to exchange ideas over the pressing developments changing the face of the Australian gaming market.
While the 2021 edition of the event will be held online, it was previously held as a closed-door event to create an ideal, environment for qualitative discourse between the industry’s leading organisations.
Previous attendees of note to the event include Ladbrokes, GVC, Unibet, Bet365, Betfair, Crown Resorts, PointsBet, Bet Easy, and PlayUp.
The presence of the country’s most prominent iGaming forms offers local authorities the opportunity to present their proposals around legislation to a very specific focus group.
International Gambling Conference (IGC) 2021
The International Gambling Conference takes us towards Kiwi territory and will run from the 30th of June to the 1st of July 2021 at the AUT in Auckland. In the spirit of its previous editions, the IGC in New Zealand will provide a platform for issues such as new technology for online and offline gambling, responsible gaming practices, and regulations among others.
While the event takes place off Australian soil, many of the attendees operate in Australia and New Zealand. This event is a lot less player-focused than the previous ones mentioned so there is less about flashy new title releases and a lot more relating to game mechanics and math models.
SiGMA
Once you have satisfied your hunger for Australian-focused iGaming events, you can widen your field of vision and take in a global perspective of the industry at SiGMA. The Malta-based event is a major happening in the international iGaming industry.
Initially planned for February, the 2021 edition has been moved to April, more specifically from the 13th to the 15th of the month. Following tradition, the event will take place at the Malta Fairs Conventions Center which accommodated over 15,000 delegates from 80 countries for the 2019 edition of the event.
SiGMA 2021 will be an amalgamation of prominent iGaming companies including operators, suppliers, affiliates, fintech start-ups, and any other interested parties seeking to make their name by creating premium gambling entertainment.
The event has a packed itinerary, but some of the major talking points that will be explored include the following.
In Emerging Trends the future of online gaming and its associated services and products will be discussed with a particular focus on the challenges and opportunities presented by the global pandemic.
The Emerging Hubs discussion will offer a deep dive into flourishing iGaming hubs in Asia, Africa, and the Americas.
Emerging Tech delivers on the collaboration between SiGMA and AIBC to present an exhaustive breakdown of all tech-related iGaming topics. Expect the discussion points to focus on AI, big data, Blockchain, the Internet of Things, and Quantum computing.
Far from daunting SiGMA’S spirit, the organisation embraced the challenges presented by the global pandemic with SiGMA Asia taking place in Manila in May. SiGMA Americas will follow in September 2021 and a SiGMA Africa event is in the pipeline with the organisation eyeing a March 2022 launch date. The African edition may take place in Cape Town as that is where the headquarters are, but all we can do at this stage is speculate.
