Organizers upbeat on Russian Gaming Week in Minsk

“This market has huge potential;, not only we see that but all the show’s visitors see it too. RGW in Minsk, as well as running a successful exhibition and conference, has put on new exciting side-projects, such as a business tour of the best casinos in Belarus, a casino dealer championship, and a series of events in informal surroundings, which create a climate for forging personal and business contacts",  added Diana Kenchadze.

RGW in Minsk began with the business tour. 30 Participants from eight European countries (Austria, Italy , Hungary, Slovenia, Ukraine, Romania, England and, Russia) were taken on a tour of facilities such as  "MaxBet», casino «Millennium», VIP-casino «Shangri La», which is a part of network managed by the international company «Storm International», and casino "Belaja Veja", the largest gaming and entertainment center of Minsk.

The business tour provided delegates with an opportunity to establish new contacts and converse with management teams of the leading gambling establishments in Minsk. 

It was followed by a two-day exhibition program, which drew the following companies:

• manufacturers of gaming equipment CMS, Belatra (Belarus), Set-Production (Australia), DLV (Latvia), Amatic (Austria), etc.

• suppliers of components for the gaming equipment Sensis;

• companies in the betting segment - SBUK, Maxline, Business.OutcomeBet, betConstruct (Malta), MeridianBet (Malta), GK Trio (Russia), Unionbet (Russia);

• online casinos Business.OutcomeBet, GaminatorCasino;

• manufacturers and suppliers of furniture and accessories for gaming - IGS-Group, Good Wood, SPDSGroup, SmileGames, Emmegierre, Ceramic-Chips;

• the manufacturer of promotional products for casinos Image-Borovichi;

• software vendors DLV, CMS, Kraten Management Ltd, Amatic, EveryMatrix;

• REC Crystal;

• the platform for online casino creation Casexe;

• the company rendering sensory marketing services for casino - Market Music;

• the well-known Maltese firm providing legal, tax, consulting and corporate services -  EMD Advokates;

• The gambling business magazine Login Casino;

• the information portal and guide to gambling Belarus - Casino.by;

• the organization that performs testing, assessment and technical examination of gaming machines - BelGISS;

• the agency of junket tours VipJTravel from St. Petersburg etc.

The widest range of slot machines was presented at the stands of DLV, Belatra and Amatic. An exclusive range of ergonomic furniture «Slot & Poker» was showcased by the Italian leader of gambling equipment - Emmegierre. CMS had another interesting development on display - visitors were presented with dual-sided display for roulette CMS-WND featuring the thinnest display in the world, and a unique electronic system CMS-Progressive for casino gaming tables, equipped with sensors, audio and video support.

Under the slogan "Feel the excitement and limitless drive today!" the company “Belatra”, the official representative of BMW in Belarus, showed off an exclusive next-generation model BMW F15 X5 to expo visitors. Belatra also entertained visitors with interactive competitions, with winners able to buy gaming equipment at discount prices.

In parallel with the exhibition RGW hosted a high profile conference attended by leading industry experts. The program was divided into three thematic sections: an overview of the eastern European gambling market and entertainment business; legislation and control authorities; and news on the global casino market.

Speakers at the conference included Athanasios-Thanos Marinos - CEO of EBGC; Lavrentiy Gubin - PR-Director of the casino network Storm International; Ruben Yakubov - Director of Russian company "Club of lovers of easy money", engaged in junket tourism; Esteban van Goor – experienced tax lawyer working for the international indirect tax department of PwC the Netherlands (Amsterdam), Andrei Gusarov - Director of PUE "Gusarov Group"; Denitza Dimitrova - international consultant on gambling at EMD (Malta) etc.

Ivan Montik’s contribution on “Bitcoin casino. Risks and benefits” deserves a special mention. This proved of immense interest and the speaker was literally bombarded with questions. During the round table on the topic "Legal climate in Belarus", such experts as Denitza Dimitrova - international gambling consultant from Malta, and Alexander Pogodin - deputy director of BelGISS (Belarusian State Institute for Standardization and Certification) took part, with participants discussing development prospects and gambling opportunities in Belarus, legislative changes that came into force last year, the main aspects of the betting business, and a number of issues related to responsible gaming.

Also RGW held a contest for the best casino dealer in Belarus «RGW Awards - Best casino dealer 2013". Candidates competed across three categories: American Roulette, Blackjack and Russian Poker.

Smile Expo, the organizers of RGW, which for the first time in Belarus convened a large international community of gambling industry professionals, reflected very positively on the event. “In summary the expo-forum RGW in Minsk proved to be a perfect opportunity for a number of companies to learn more about the gambling business in Belarus, engage directly with this emerging market and make profitable deals,”. 

In 2014 RGW plans to put on a still wider conference program, an increased display area plus new interactive activities. A large number of operators from Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and other former Soviet Union countries are expected to visit RGW in Moscow.