Suntera Global’s Head of Forensics Peter Allwright assesses the hot topics at this year’s major e-gaming conference.
A focus on collaboration, a growing appreciation of the importance of intellectual property (IP) protection and a thirst for quality data were among the big themes at this year’s ICE London conference, according to Suntera Global’s Head of Forensics Peter Allwright.
Bringing together more than 40,000 global e-gaming executives and 650 exhibitors from more than 150 countries, the three-day event held at ExCel London last month (7-9 February) has established itself as the leading event for the global e-gaming and gambling industry – with Peter pointing to a vibrant and enthusiastic sentiment amongst delegates this year.
“It was clear from this year’s event that there is a resurgence of confidence in the sector,” said Peter. “In particular, the big players in the sector are back, which was noticeable in the considerable investment they’d made in the event, whilst there was also a broad cross-section of professionals from across the industry in attendance – including a number of legal and compliance experts, which is a positive indicator for the sector.
“There were a number of interesting themes to emerge from the event too – sports betting in particular is back, with a lot of momentum in that space. There was also a lot of talk around partnerships and collaboration generally, with e-gaming firms keen to explore interesting side ventures and specialist projects with firms in different but complementary spaces. All of that is a reflection of an industry in buoyant mood.”
Of particular note, however, was the focus firms are putting on risk, data and IP, with firms emphasising the importance of having access to high quality intelligence and data quickly to enable them to make better decisions as part of their growth plans.
“A lot of discussions this year revolved around automated corporate intelligence,” explains Peter. “The industry is seeing a trend of movement to perceived growth markets in the US and Latin America, but to do that they are needing watertight organisational risk frameworks and IP controls. In part that requires them to have an ability to risk rate people within their own organisations, to make sure they can stand up to scrutiny when applying for licences.
“There’s a clear and significant role here for automated corporate intelligence services, which can provide data on people in multiple formats and impressively quickly,” adds Peter. “We certainly received a lot of interest in our proposition in this area at the event, with firm’s showing a real understanding of the value it can add in enabling them to move forward on growth plans quickly and with confidence in a rapidly evolving market.”
As predicted, ‘cloned games’ was also a hot topic of discussion at the event, with Peter highlighting a welcome move to embrace professional forensic approaches to IP protection.
“The threat posed by the cloning of games through IP theft remains a key problem – but it is welcome that attendees at ICE this year were more alive to this threat than ever before, with firms of all sizes talking about the issue seriously and actively putting in place measures to safeguard their IP.
“IP is now seen as a key part of their brand and operation and firms are formalising their approaches to forensics and IP protection. It’s an area that is building critical mass in the industry, but education is still needed. A number of senior gaming experts were still quite surprised that the theft of IP is such a big area of risk to them, but the understanding is now definitely there that there are ways to prevent and safeguard against it.”
You can watch more about Peter’s views on IP protection and the threat of cloned games here.
For more information about Suntera Forensics IP Protection services, click here.
To discuss proactive, preventive strategies to ensure the resilience of your business or to discuss an immediate need, please get in touch with Peter Allwright, Head of Suntera Forensics:
HEAD OF SUNTERA FORENSICS