IGaming’s ‘Oscars’ a wonderful success

As an industry that makes over €1.2 billion and contributes 12 per cent to the national GDP and employs over 12,000 people, iGaming is an integral part of life in Malta. With that in mind, iGaming Idol has become the Oscar of the iGaming Industry, a sector that has made Malta the home for gaming excellence.

Now in its third year, the popularity of the event and the demand for participation for sponsorship grew tremendously with the attendance increasing by over 25 per cent between 2017 and 2018. This encouraged the organisers to find a new home to hold the event, and they settled on the Bay Arena at the Intercontinental Hotel in St Julian’s.

iGaming Idol is built on three pillars: Recognition of Individuals, Entertainment, and Charity. With regard to the latter, the organisers have raised over €20,000 for the Malta Community Chest Fund Foundation through charity fundraisers and proceeds from the event this year alone.

Speaking at the Awards, Junior Minister for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation Silvio Schembri referred to iGaming Idol as a staple in the iGaming calendar and an event that rewards excellence to people important to the industry. “We want to embrace and celebrate these achievements and continue to ensure that both homegrown and foreign talent keep having Malta as the launch pad for their iGaming career,” he said. Minister Schembri also announced that, following the published consultation document in March that sparked discussions among stakeholders on the introduction of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and virtual currencies, the Malta Gaming Authority is taking things a step further and will be launching a Sandbox for DLT. Schembri concluded his speech by presenting the first-ever ‘Hall of Fame’ Award to George Debrincat for his dedication to and his proactivity in the industry since its inception.

The night continued with hosts – industry veteran Michael Casselli, head reporter Calvin Ayre, and Coin Geek Rebecca Liggero – announcing the rest of the winners.

Michael Pederson, CEO of iGaming Idol, said he was overwhelmed by the response of the industry and made it a point to thank all those who contributed to the event. He stated: “iGaming Idol could not have happened without our headline partner Videoslots.com, our Platinum sponsors GamingMalta, IGT, Microgaming and BetConstruct, our Silver sponsor StudioSeven, and the many other sponsors and contributors who have made this, as well as the industry at large, a benchmark in gaming excellence.”