“In 2025, SAGSE consolidated its position as the industry’s reference platform in Latin America”

In an exclusive interview with Yogonet, Alan Burak, Vice President of SAGSE, reviewed 2025 — a pivotal year for the event’s evolution in the region — and shared his key conclusions and projections for 2026, against a backdrop marked by international expansion, technological innovation, and the consolidation of SAGSE as a reference platform for the gaming industry in Latin America.

What is your assessment of 2025 as organiser of SAGSE LATAM?

2025 was the year in which SAGSE LATAM fully consolidated itself as a fundamental ecosystem for the industry. We are talking about a platform with 34 editions, which continues to strengthen year after year.

We grew in qualified audience, in the quality of networking, in regional presence, and in our capacity to generate strategic content for the industry. It was, without question, a year of consolidation.

This year, we achieved two key milestones. The first was the consolidation of the multi-venue model across three regions, systematically covering Latin America: SAGSE South America, based in Buenos Aires, the “Europe of the Americas”; SAGSE Central America & Caribbean, in Panama; and SAGSE Ciudad del Este, in Paraguay. These events demonstrated that SAGSE is now the only platform capable of consistently connecting operators, regulators, and suppliers throughout the region.

The second major milestone was international expansion. We formalised a historic alliance with G2E Asia, paving the way for future official Latin American delegations to Asia. The objective is to bring leading operators to G2E Asia in Macau in 2026, opening a new chapter for LATAM by connecting us with innovation, investment, and operators from the Asian market.

Overall, SAGSE 2025 was a year of scale-up, in which the industry reaffirmed its confidence in us as a meeting point, a business platform, and a strategic compass for what lies ahead. SAGSE consolidated itself as a reference in responsible gaming, the prevention of problem gambling and child cyber-gambling addiction, the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, and the fight against illegal gambling.

Which piece of industry news or event do you consider the most important of the year, and why?

Without a doubt, the most relevant development of the year was the global acceleration of artificial intelligence’s impact on gaming — both from a regulatory and an operational perspective — across marketing, security, and user experience. AI ceased to be a trend and became a critical business infrastructure: it anticipates risks, optimises decision-making, improves player experience, redefines compliance, and opens up a new world of automation, segmentation, and operational integrity.

In addition, 2025 marked the moment when the industry understood that the difference between growth and stagnation increasingly depends on how AI is adopted. For this reason, in 2026, we will place a very strong focus on everything related to AI in gambling. In this context, SAGSE decided to officially incorporate verticals such as AI, Blockchain & Fintech, and to establish partnerships with leading technology events in the region.

Several new events were held in LATAM this year. How do you assess the region’s evolution, and what place does SAGSE occupy within that ecosystem?

The region has grown, but it has also become more fragmented. Many newcomers are arriving in Latin America in search of what they perceive to be a gold mine. We have been here for 34 years and understand the true value of this market very well.

Many new events have emerged, but the market has made it clear that not all of them are able to sustain impact, relevant audiences, or long-term continuity. There is a great deal of hype and expectation in the region, yet at SAGSE, we are very clear about our market and our international positioning.

In this context, SAGSE positioned itself as the only Latin American event capable of offering everything within a single week: 100% qualified audiences, genuine VIP networking — both within SAGSE and through its side events — curated content delivered through innovative formats, strategic global partnerships with G2E Vegas, G2E Asia and ICE Barcelona, and a solid multi-regional presence across South America, Central America, the Caribbean and the Southern Cone.

While other events compete for attention, SAGSE consolidated itself as the reference platform where business decisions are made, regulations are debated, the future is projected, and true decision-makers meet. Today, SAGSE occupies in Latin America a role equivalent to that of G2E in North America or ICE in Europe: the region’s institutional event.

SAGSE’s agenda has been consolidated in Argentina, Paraguay, and Panama. How has this growth impacted the industry, and what is the outlook for 2026?

SAGSE’s year-on-year growth has had a direct impact across the entire value chain. There has been greater professionalisation among operators and teams, driven by increasingly specialised conferences; stronger regional integration, bringing together markets that historically operated in isolation; and a greater attraction of international investment, particularly as a result of the alliance with G2E Asia.

We also expanded the thematic agenda, incorporating areas such as security, compliance, fintech, artificial intelligence, sports, payments and responsible gaming. Looking ahead to 2026, we plan to strengthen alliances with G2E Asia, ICE Barcelona and G2E Vegas, further expand the technological focus on AI, blockchain and fintech, consolidate SAGSE Security and SAGSE Sports, and elevate the VIP experience through thematic clusters and international delegations.

Our 2026 roadmap is already defined: SAGSE South America on 18 and 19 March at the Hilton Buenos Aires, Argentina; SAGSE Central America & Caribbean on 3 and 4 June at the Sortis Hotel & Convention Center in Panama; and SAGSE Paraguay from 5 to 7 August at the Hotel Casino Acaray, in Ciudad del Este.

We are convinced that 2026 will be the year in which SAGSE definitively becomes the strategic compass of the industry in Latin America — guiding trends, aligning markets and anticipating what comes next.