A Recap of SGS 2019 in Copenhagen PLUS Announcing New European Events for 2020

The Eventus International team is pleased to report back that the 2nd Scandinavian Gaming Show 2019 was concluded successfully last week with overwhelming positive responses from attendees. The event which was held from 5 to 6 September at the Radisson Blu Scandinavia Hotel in Copenhagen, was attended by a full house of senior level participants from across Europe.

Both days were packed with insightful and current conversation. After opening remarks by chairperson, Christina Thakor-Rankin, Day One of the event kicked off with a keynote address on the Gaming Code of Conduct in Denmark, delivered by Morten Ronde, CEO/Managing Partner, Danish Online Gambling Association/ Nordic Gambling.

This informative presentation was followed by a panel discussion on the Marketing of Gambling Advertising in the Scandinavian Countries, moderated by Gustaf Hoffstedt, General Secretary, Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling. The significant discourse was panelled by Frank Herold, Member of the Board, EMIRAT AG,  Henric Andersson, Co-founder and Director, SuprNation,  Jan Hagelberg, Vice President, Casino Games Business Unit, Veikkaus, Morten Ronde, CEO/Managing Partner, Danish Online Gambling Association/ Nordic Gambling  and Peter-Paul de Goeij, Managing Director/Managing Consultant, Speel Verantwoord (Dutch Trade Association of Online Gaming Operators)/Quod Bonum. 

The threat of stricter regulation and illegal operators creating a negative reputation and repercussions for legal operators, next made for a lively panel session. Carl Fredrik Stenstrøm, General Secretary, Norwegian Industry Association for Online Gambling (NBO), moderated the panel made up of Gustaf Hoffstedt, General Secretary, Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling, Hampus Hagglof, CEO, FSport, Jan Feuerhake, Salary Partner, Taylor Wessing, Jari Vähänen, Vice President, New Business & Senior Vice President, International Affairs, Veikkaus and Vasiliki Panousi, Senior Advisor Policy and Legal Matters, European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA).

Richard Mifsud, CEO and Co-founder, Helio Gaming delivered a comprehensive presentation on Lottery as An Acquisition and Retention Tool followed by Frank Herold, Member of the Board, EMIRAT AG sharing valuable advice on How to Securely Grow Your Business with Bigger Pay-outs.

After the networking lunch, two more panel sessions were lined up. The first panel, moderated by Christina Thakor-Rankin, Principal Consultant, 1710 Gaming UK, covered the topic of Gender Diversity and the Gambling Industry: Using Diversity to Increase Responsibility and Market-Share. This insightful conversation was panelled by Catherine Chauvin, Area Manager, Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU) and Fiona Davies, Head of Gaming - Risk Intelligence, Acuris Risk Intelligence.

The last panel of the day focused on An Action Plan for Responsible Gaming in Scandinavian Countries and Beyond. This ever-relevant discussion was moderated by Paul Foster, Managing Director, Crucial Compliance and panelled by Catherine Chauvin, Area Manager, Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU), Fredrik Ljungman, Country Manager, Otmore Limited, Jack Symons, Co-founder and Director (Product), Gamban, Richard Mifsud, CEO and Co-founder, Helio Gaming and Sverker Skogberg, Senior Vice President, Public Affairs, PAF.

On Day Two, Fredrik Ljungman, Country Manager, Otmore Limited, got conversations started with a keynote address on Insights into the Changes in Brand Strategies of Different Companies within the Industry. This was followed by a look into How to Best Handle Technical Compliance in Both Denmark and Sweden Where a Prescribed Process of Change Management is in Place. This practical and technical discussion was led by Alex Iliopoulos, Senior Product Manager of International Compliance Strategy, Betfair and Antonio Zanghi, Managing Director, Maxima Compliance while moderated by Henrik Høyer Schou, Indirect Tax Manager, PwC.

After a networking tea break, compliance issues were discussed in the panel, Review of Compliance Requirements from KYC, AML to EDD - How it is changing and what operators can practically do to better know their customers to make the industry safe, profitable and sustainable. Peter Murray, Head of Gaming, Alexem Services moderated the panel led by several enthusiastic panel members including Chris Kronow Rasmussen, Lecturer, University of New Haven, Fiona Davies, Head of Gaming - Risk Intelligence, Acuris Risk Intelligence, Jan Persson-Tryggedsson, Customer Success Manager, Refinitiv, Petter Fagrell, Head of Compliance, Global Gaming Group, Rasmus Juul Jørgensen, Senior Compliance Manager, Danske Spil A/S and Stella Lønsmann, Special Advisor, Danish Gambling Authority.

“Too much to cover on the AML/KYC panel at the Scandinavian Gaming Show. Super interesting discussions and thank you for having me speak at such a focused and relevant event..  #kyc #aml #backgroundchecks #gaming #duediligence #risk #compliance #fraud #data” Fiona Davies, Head of Gaming - Risk Intelligence, Acuris Risk Intelligence

“Great and very informative panel discussion on compliance requirements from #KYC, #AML, #EDD perspectives - what operators can do to improve KYC and AML levels and keep the industry safe”Peter-Paul de Goeij, Managing Director/Managing Consultant, Speel Verantwoord (Dutch Trade Association of Online Gaming Operators)/Quod Bonum. 

 
Next up, the panel session reviewing Payment Blocking and Restrictions in Norway: Success or Failure? provided vigorous debate and much interest. Panel members consisted of Rasmus Juul Jørgensen, Senior Compliance Manager, Danske Spil A/S (moderator) and  panellists, Carl Fredrik Stenstrøm, General Secretary, Norwegian Industry Association for Online Gambling (NBO), Henrik Nordal, Director, Norwegian Gaming Authority and Rolf Sims, Public Affairs Manager, Kindred Group PLC.

“Thanks for the active participation and commentary. It was truly memorable.”  

Henrik Nordal, Director, Norwegian Gaming Authority

“Thankful for being invited to attend the Scandinavian Gaming Show and a pleasure to have good debate. Thanks to Rasmus from Danske Spil moderating this panel.”

Carl Fredrik Stenstrøm, General Secretary, Norwegian Industry Association for Online Gambling (NBO)

Following the above, the incidence of Rogue Affiliates and How to Apply Gaming and Marketing Legislation Effectively to These was under scrutiny. Another current issue in the gaming industry, the dialogue was led by Jesper Søgaard, CEO and Co-founder, Better Collective, Paul Foster, Managing Director, Crucial Compliance and Sebastian Agerskov, Co-founder and CEO, Traffic Lab ApS while moderated by Affiliate Marketing Consultant, GiG Copenhagen (Gaming Innovation Group), Mads Birch Jespersen.

The last panel of the two-day event explored the topic Emerging / New Products: Now Poker is Over; Fantasy Sports is Live and Bingo is No Longer a Monopoly. What is the Next Growth Product? This discussion was moderated by Hampus Hagglof, CEO, FSport and panelled by Jan Hagelberg, Vice President, Casino Games Business Unit, Veikkaus, Joakim Renman, Chief Commercial Officer, Scout Gaming Group and Johann Sigurdsson, Senior Business Development Manager, Microgaming.

The event was concluded with closing remarks by chairperson, Christina Thakor-Rankin after which delegates gathered for networking and coffee.
Eventus International would like to thank all the speakers, sponsors and delegates for their contribution in making #SGS2019 a successful and memorable event.

The Eventus International Team further takes pleasure in announcing that plans for SGS 2020 are in full swing. The 3rd Scandinavian Gaming Show 2020 will be brought to Stockholm, Sweden from 28 to 29 September 2020.

In addition, Eventus has added two brand new gaming events to their calendar! The iGaming German (iGG) will be hosted in Berlin from 14 to 15 May 2020 and the Kyiv Gaming Summit (KiS) in Kyiv from 11 to 12 June 2020. We hope to see you there!