iGaming affiliate conferences have taken place literally all over the globe since the industry’s inception about fifteen years ago. Off the top of my head, I can recall such events taking place in Las Vegas, Amsterdam, San Jose Costa Rica, Macau, London, Stockholm Malta, Budapest, Barcelona, Berlin and I’m likely missing a few. Now go ahead and add Lisbon to that list, as it’s iGB’s latest and greatest location for their annual autumn affiliate conference.
Just last week, hundreds of affiliates, affiliate programs and other iGaming industry professionals descended upon Lisbon to attend the Lisbon Affiliate Conference or LiAC. With LiAC fresh on my mind, for two reasons in particular, I wanted to dedicate this week’s column to the overwhelming success of Lisbon as a conference host city.
First of all, few are aware of the gigantic amount of work involved in choosing a conference host city and I wanted to spotlight team iGB for a job well done. Second, from my perspective, delegates were delighted with Lisbon and I wanted to spread the word so iGaming affiliate professionals can go ahead and put the LiAC on their calendars for 2019.
As mentioned above, so much time and effort goes into picking out a venue, extensive research that delegates like you and I are probably unaware of. Does the city have a venue that’s big enough and is the venue available on the dates we need? This alone is a huge issue as a number of spectacular, warm cities in Europe do not have venues that can hold our numbers. We have grown over the past fifteen years and therefore so must our conference venues.
Also take into consideration iGaming regulations- will there be any issues with the authorities? Airports- are there direct flights from cities in which a lot of our industry is based? Cost- is the city affordable for everyone? Unions- are there complicated rules and specific local service provider requirements we need to abide by? Nightlife- is there any? Safety? Language barriers? The list goes on and on and on.
“When looking for a new venue we consider lots of things including, is the market regulated? Do they have a big enough venue and is it high enough? We have a lot of rigging! What does the city feel like? Will our delegates have fun here…”, Shona ODonnell of Clarion Gaming shared with CalvinAyre.com.
“Lisbon ticked so many boxes for us, that the decision was easy”, she said.
iGB has done a magnificent job of keeping their autumn affiliate conference location fresh and exciting by changing host cities every couple of years. While we as delegates love visiting these new places, its most certainly not an easy task for ODonnell and her team.
“If we are moving venues then we start work two years out,” ODonell shared.
“We have to find the venue, the hotel and all of the networking venues. There is an enormous amount of work that goes on behind the scenes while I ultimately make that decision all the hard work is down to the team. I have to say I am incredibly lucky in that I have the MOST amazing team who love what they do, love the industry and work extremely hard to deliver a great event”, she added.
LiAC will return to Lisbon next year, in fact the dates have already been announced – 16-19 October 2019 – and you can rest assured any kinks delegates experienced this year will be sorted out for the next.
“I’m happy, for me I always see the things that didn’t go so well, so the good news is that next year will be even more amazing, because we know what to expect. Feedback from across the sector has been really positive. Everyone really seemed to enjoy the city and all it had to offer”, ODonnell revealed.
But you don’t have to take it from ODonnell and I, here’s some exclusive feedback from sponsors, exhibitors, delegates, affiliates and media on what they thought of Lisbon as a host city this year:
“It was a very busy time of the year with several conventions within one month but we never regretted coming to Lisbon. The city itself is fantastic, awesome sights and bridges, cheap with transports, good clubs and party people along the pink street and lots of happy operators and affiliates. In the end it made it a very exclusive event with top affiliates and industry leaders. Everyone seemed to be super happy with the destination, some stayed longer for sightseeing, some could even imagine to live there but all of them want to come back next year”, – Affiliate Manager Patrick, Intertops.
“I thought this years’ Affiliate Conference in Lisbon was great. The venue and location were perfect. The environment was relaxed and professional it enabled good business introductions, meetings and deals to be made”, – Andre Nazemi, Ahapartner.com.
“Lisbon is a budget-friendly city that has it all, including beautiful weather and breathtaking views. It’s ideal for conferences and networking,” – Stephanie Wynters, AFFILIATEGY.com.
“Great location this year for the Autumn affiliate conference, Lisbon is one of the most beautiful cities I have been to,” Ed Alfaro, SBR.
“The choice to host this year’s Affiliate Conference for the first time in Lisbon was a huge success. Lisbon has something for everybody; great food, history, culture, stunning views and nightlife…all in all a great and inspiring trip and I am looking forward to going back in 2019,” Franco Buffa, Fansbet Affiliates.
“Of all the iGaming conference destinations I’ve been to, Lisbon tops it for so many reasons. Firstly, the weather is perfect. Secondly, there is no shortage of quality restaurants, delicious wine, hip cocktail bars, cool rooftop bars with a view, cultural spots, and clubs! There is something for everyone and it’s the perfect city to host affiliates and clients. Thanks LiAC for bringing us there!”, – Jodie Thind, Director, Lyceum Media.
