iGaming Business affiliate get-togethers are known around the industry for a relentless mix of conference sessions, networking and of course more drinks than you can fit into a modestly sized arena. The next one, which combines the Barcelona Affiliate Conference and iGB Espana, takes place on October 11-14 and will be no different. Preparations are almost complete for what will be one of the biggest conferences in Spanish iGaming history and iGB is optimistic that it will surpass last year’s attendance.
“Altogether we expect to have around 100 affiliate programs at Barcelona and so far it’s quite exciting because of all the registrations to date around 90 percent are affiliates so we should have really good affiliate numbers,” iGaming Business’ Shona ODonnell told CalvinAyre.com.
This year’s conference is slightly different as it incorporates both BAC and iGB Espana – a conference that only had its first outing this time last year. It means there is more of a clear split between the two sides in terms of sessions with iGB Espana entirely in Spanish and BAC tracks all in English. As for the sessions themselves, ODonnell explained there will be the usual “standing room only” SEO session. That’s not all though.
“We’ve also got a number of sessions on the financial markets. I think that will be really interesting and it’s a kind of 101: what the products are, how to market them and what the benefits are,” she said. “We’ll also look at Latin America because that’s a big exciting area for growth. There’s a good chance we’ll get more people coming from the local market to see what the regulation means to them particularly from an affiliate point of view.”
The popular iGB conference app, available for both iPhone and Android, will help conference goers make the most of what it has to offer. It includes a schedule, messaging between delegates, the ability to set up meetings, speaker profiles, and an extensive party guide. The app syncs with the desktop portal meaning that whatever you do on either will show up on both.
With Spain being a youthful market all the serious content included within the conference sessions is indeed important. Though on the other side of the coin, being in Spain, in the sun, for a conference, gives affiliates a chance to show off one of their best attributes – drinkin’ and partyin’.
This year’s opening night party takes place at last year’s venue, the popular Astoria bar, which ODonnell dubbed a “fantastic” place to throw a party. Moving on to Friday night and Affiliates United sponsor a party at “one of the trendiest clubs” in the city, Otto Zutz. Saturday night takes on a more “chilled out” vibe as the action moves onto a new club for the iGaming crowd – Elephant. This is before the uber popular Sunday Session, sponsored by Intertops, where everyone heads to Santa Marta on the beach, has a few drinks, and goes skinny dipping – that’s what we’ve heard anyhow.
So in a nutshell, according to ODonnell: “You get four days. Three days of conference and exhibition, including iGB Espana, all the parties, app, portal, a free bar every afternoon, all for absolutely nothing if you’re an affiliate.”
If that’s not enough to tempt you then we don’t know what is!
