Make the most of your time at BEGE and EEGS

James Ashton from Find My UK Casino provides his top tips for maximising your time at the upcoming Balkan Entertainment & Gaming Expo and Eastern European Gaming Summit.

Conferences are a great way for businesses to learn more about the industry they work in, get on top of the latest trends, challenges and opportunities and to network with other attendees.

They provide the chance for delegates to attend panels and presentations, learning from some of the brightest minds and creative talents in the industry.

I have attended many conferences over the years and have used the knowledge and understanding I have gained to help drive the content strategy at online casino comparison site, Find My UK Casino.

With the Balkan Entertainment and Gaming Expo and the Eastern European Gaming Summit coming up next month, I wanted to share some of my tips for making the most of your time at a conference.

Take a look at the agenda before you go:

BEGE and EEGS have packed agendas featuring panels and presentations with leading speakers from across the entertainment and gambling industries.

This includes representatives from the likes of William Hill and GVC talking about a range of topics from regulation to AI via blockchain and esports.

It is worth reading the agenda before attending a conference so that you can identify the panels that interest you the most and then cut out time in your diary to make sure you attend.

Reading the agenda will also allow you to see when breaks and networking events take place and to make sure you arrange meetings around or to coincide with these.

Create a diary for your time at the expo:

Once you start to highlight presentations to attend and begin arranging meeting with exhibitors and fellow delegates, you will soon find your time at the conference becomes incredibly busy.

The best thing to do is to create a diary or calendar either on paper or on your phone so that you can keep track of your movements and to make sure you don’t miss an appointment.

By doing this, you can also factor in time to eat and drink and to take a few minutes here and there to rest your feet – I often cover several miles per day at a conference.

Having a schedule and diary also prevents you walking the conference floor aimlessly. It keeps you on track and ensures you make the most of your time at the event.

Book meetings in advance:

Conferences are busy for both exhibitors and delegates so it is important to book meetings in advance – if you don’t, you might not be able to meet with the people you wish to.

When I am at conferences I always book meetings in advance to be sure that I can meet with representatives from the casino brands we already work with, but also new online casinos.

This ensures that I can catch up with our existing partners and update them with how things are going but also to strike new partnerships and business opportunities.

If I didn’t book these meetings in advance – and enter them into my conference diary – then they simply wouldn’t take place and it would be a missed opportunity.

Enjoy the networking events:

At the end of a long day of panels, presentations and meetings it can be tempting to return to your hotel room for a relaxing bath and an early night.

But most conferences also offer fun networking events and drinks receptions that are well worth attending – even if you are feeling a touch jaded after the day’s events.

They are a great opportunity to relax and unwind and to chat with others in the industry about what you have learned that day over a cold beer or a glass of wine.

I have been attending conferences for many years now and as I mentioned above, they have proved instrumental in my role at Find My UK Casino.

If you are attending BEGE or EEGS please do follow my tips above to make sure you maximise the incredible wealth of information, knowledge and fun that is offered at each expo.