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From July 11th to 14th in July of 2023, the IA team was lucky enough to attend iGB Live! which took place in Amsterdam. It’s always one of the largest iGaming conferences on the calendar and this year was no different as over 5,000 iGaming brands and affiliates were on the floor, showcasing how valuable these meetups are. The European market is typically seen as the hub of the iGaming world, making this conference important for determining the vital trends and strategies being used in the industry.
With that in mind, we’ve put together this article to go over all the valuable insights we picked up during the conference for your convenience!
AI is becoming more and more valuable to users
Like the rest of the business world, the use of AI is being talked about more in the iGaming world, which was no different at iGB Live. The conference even had a Webinar focused on it, entitled “the Future of Chatbot AI and implementing it as an affiliate”, which focused on how AI tools are changing the affiliate ecosystem. The key is for operators and affiliates to find ways to harness AI to simplify the lives of their audience and drive knowledge within their business, but to also be extremely wary of offering up too much information. When using AI tools, it is vital to be careful about what information you present in order to ensure that sensitive information is being properly protected.
While it’s difficult to predict exactly where AI is going within the iGaming world, it’s becoming clear that it’s going to be a valuable tool for both operators and affiliates in the space.
Markets outside of Europe driving interest
Despite the conference taking place in the Netherlands, much of the talk around emerging iGaming markets was from outside of Europe. As seen at many conferences over the last year or so, the Latin American market was a big topic of conversation as an iGaming market that is bursting with potential. That potential is becoming realized as more and more operators and affiliates are seeing the value of diversifying into this growing geo, which has seen competition grow substantially in the area. In particular, Brazil was a large topic of conversation at the conference as the largest country in the area and one that has been active in regulating its online gaming sector.
However, Latin America wasn’t the only market being discussed, as Asia was also a hot topic at this summer’s conference. Seen by many as the next sleeping iGaming giant after Latin America, there was plenty of chatter around the continent as whole, with particular interest in India and Bangladesh.
India is a fast-growing iGaming market, whose market size is expected to hit over $1 billion USD this year. Bangladesh on the other hand is a smaller country, but also one that’s full of potential in the industry and is seen as untapped.
Affiliate Insights
With lots of overall traffic at the event, many affiliates were in attendance, allowing us plenty of opportunities to further understand what they’re looking for at the moment. In our discussions with affiliates, it was clear that they need transparent, real-time statistics to properly optimize their campaigns and help operators reach even wider audiences.
Additionally, on top of the focus on technology, affiliates mentioned that working with expert affiliate and account managers have brought them valuable insights that have helped them expand their reach. Having experienced marketers in these roles has helped affiliates improve their brand recognition and connect with even more users.
Looking Forward
With another successful conference in the books, it’s time to look forward to the future. During the conference, the emergence of AI, the strength of the Asian & Latin American markets and the needs of affiliates were the vital takeaways. Both operators and affiliates should be taking long looks at these ideas and how they can best take advantage of them.
We look forward to seeing everyone at SBC Summit Barcelona in September, where we’ll get the chance to talk to more operators and affiliates, looking into how we can all push this growing industry forward together!
