Exclusive Interview with Oliver de Bono, SiGMA’s Chief Strategy Officer

From August 22-25, 2022, Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, got an exclusive opportunity to host the very first SiGMA Balkans/ CIS summit. This multi-day conference gathered online gaming specialists from all over the world, giving them chance to showcase their products, introduce their business plans, and discuss potential business opportunities.

Aside from the auction, where €19,000 was raised for charity, one of the highlighting moments of the conference was SiGMA Awards Night. The most renowned companies from the gaming, tech, and affiliation industries were awarded for their services to the industry, including LCB, which was acknowledged as the Best Affiliate of the Year.

Our presenter caught up with Oliver de Bono, SiGMA’s Chief Strategy Officer, in charge of all things SEO, Sales, Corporate Structure, and Tech to discuss his impressions on the Balkans iGaming market, expectations, plans, and much more.

Q: What are your expectations from this year's event given that it’s the first time ever in Belgrade?

A: Well, our expectations this year were really just to assess the community. We're already familiar with Serbia, we know that there's a growing gaming interest in this region. So, the idea was to see what kind of interest we'll get from the local community, but also to assess what businesses will be interested in coming out here. As we can look around us, it's been a very successful show. It's been packed since this morning, so we've met our expectations. Now we're looking forward to seeing what the next year's plans will be.

Q: Have you prepared anything special to celebrate the first Sigma Balkans during the festival?

A: To be honest, this year we're actually tying it in not only with the EXPO, but we've also got a number of social events. We've also partnered with Centurion, there's actually an MMA fight happening tomorrow, so it's quite a lot we're trying to gather into a very short few days. Day one is nearly up, so I think really the most special part of it is the actual conference itself, the MMA fight, but also the startup pitch was a great hit this year, looking at local businesses and ideas.

Q: What industry segment do you feel will benefit the most from this year's conference and networking?

A: We came to Belgrade to really assess what's here. As far as the industry segment goes, we know that gaming is very strong. Belgrade is a very, very good place for satellite offices. We actually have our own satellite office over here. We've shown the international market the benefits of Belgrade, of the Balkans in general. So, we definitely feel that there's going to be an increase in interest for setting up shop here, whether that's, support, SEO, content teams, which we feel have definitely have had good attention during the EXPO. We have to see what is yet to come. I think there is a lot more going to happen.

Q: What do you think about the iGaming markets in the Balkans and the opportunities for growth?

A: Just as we discussed on stage earlier, there are several types of opportunities. Generally, you have this concept of satellite offices, where companies come over to build their teams because the talent is very, very good here in Belgrade, but it's not just about that. Regulation is still in the early days. Serbia has its own regulation for the local market, Romania is becoming a remote gaming hub, so the Balkans are growing. I think at this point in time, it's more about the hubs, the individuals, the talent. It will soon become about regulation and the actual player base because much of the Balkans is still unregulated. I think the biggest interest here is for gaming companies to set up their operations.

Q: What about the new industry talent and start-up pitch we already mentioned? Are there any favorites of yours that you're cheering for?

A: Out here, there seems to be quite an interest in new tech. There's quite an interest also in using blockchain technology within the gaming industry. We've seen a lot of interest in this area, and I definitely think these are going to be the big players in the future. Obviously, this might tie into regulation at a later stage, but right now what we're really interested in is those businesses that are utilizing NFTs, blockchain, but also very advanced SEO and online marketing tactics, which Belgrade is a fantastic hub for.

Q: What brand are you particularly happy to see attending?

A: That would be a very difficult question because I don't want to offend anyone. I'm really happy, we have a lot of the big names here. BetConstruct, one of our major sponsors, it’s fantastic seeing them here. We have so many other brands like SoftGamings and Pragmatic (Play) supporting us. There are good companies like Campeon. There are so many of the companies that we know and love that come to many of our shows, but seeing them here in Belgrade is a nice achievement.

Q: What do you think are the networking opportunities for the tech sector? What kind of workshops, presentations or new products have been prepared this year for the two exhibition days?

A: There's actually been a lot, not only the startup pitch which we mentioned earlier. The startup pitch really allows the audience to see what new businesses are coming out. If you just walk around the conference, you can see how many businesses are demonstrating or coming here to showcase their new products. You have crash games on display, really, really interesting new games providers, platforms, and a lot of sportsbook technology is also on display. There are a lot of items to come and walk around and see. When it comes to networking, it's not just about seeing the new technology, but it's actually meeting really good people to do business with. Apart from that, I think anyone who's interested in the gaming market can probably find a job within 30 minutes of walking around the EXPO because there's a big, big hunger for talent.

Q: Tech, media, or gaming- which one takes precedence in South East Europe? Blockchain, crypto technologies, and crypto trends are particularly popular in the region, and there seem to be lots ofexhibitors from this field in the event. What about digital marketing? A lot of questions in one, I hope you remember.

A: If we want to really focus on what is predominant in this region, it is digital marketing. If you take Belgrade as a whole, I would probably say that the bigger interest or the gaming companies that brought a lot of other companies to Belgrade were digital marketing firms. Ultimately, these are the affiliates. You have mega giants, the two biggest names in the industry are out here, LCB and AskGamblers. They are kings of digital marketing. You have fantastic brands like Casinomeister and so many other companies that are based here. You can see that Belgrade is a digital marketing hub. The talent in SEO, the talent in content writing. I think, in my experience, we haven't found better locations but there's a lot more to it. Many of these companies are adopting crypto and blockchain, so I definitely think, when it comes to digital marketing, Belgrade is a hub. Obviously, there is a big gaming market out here as well, but it's mainly been on the land-based front. Now it's beginning to go online. But, if you want to compare the largest market in the region, I would probably say sportsbook and digital marketing are the two larger verticals in this region.

Q: Yesterday was the Awards gala. How it went?

A: It was a fantastic gala, quite a packed house. What we do with the gala is to recognize those players that have over the last year supported the industry within these regions. So, it was a very busy night, we gave out quite a lot of awards. We really appreciate the prestige that comes with the awards. A lot of companies do take it into account that we are recognizing their efforts, not just for being part of the show, we're recognizing their efforts within the industry, so I think it was a very successful night. Went on to a little bit of a party, nothing too heavy, but I think anyone who went said they enjoyed it very, very much.

Q: Party is always a good idea, why not? What are some innovative exhibitions you recommend?

A: When it comes to exhibitions, I'm thinking more the exhibitors. Over here, I definitely look at the larger brands like BetConstruct and SoftGamings, because their tech has always been in the front of the industry. But, if you walk around the smaller branding booths, there are so many good ideas. You have sportsbook marketing tools like Triggy, you have great crash games like Aviatrix. There are so many interesting things to see. If you're getting into gaming, you'll learn a lot from them. If you have an established business in gaming, then they will benefit your growth, this is for sure.

Q: For the end, do you have some message for the Balkan clients and the audience?

A: We're just very, very appreciative the people who came here and supported our event. We're looking forward to the future of gaming in the Balkans. We hope to see everyone at our other shows also, not just in the Balkans. We have Malta coming up which is our mega show. The idea here is to really shine a light on how big the industry is growing here in Serbia and the Balkans.

Q: Thank you very much.