Starting in January, we’ll have the opportunity to gather in London during ICE 2011 that opens on Tuesday 24 with industry conferences and exhibits for all the gaming industry, including racing and sports betting as well as the growing online segment.

Over three days, the Latin American gaming business leaders that make the journey to what may well be an arctic London, if the inclement weather that has engulfed the country these days does not abate, will have the chance to visit global leaders such as Novomatic, IGT, Bally, debuting Merkur Gaming, moving from Amusements that is, debuting Amaya Gaming from Canada, promising the latest in high technology products for the industry, as well as hundreds of companies from all over the world, which year after year meet at this European event.

As far as industry trade shows go in Latin America, the calendar starts with the Caribbean Gaming Show in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, in March; FADJA in Bogota in April; ELA in Mexico in May; SAGSE Panama in June; a rebranded Peru Gaming Show in August, under new management, in August; and SAGSE Buenos Aires in November.

As the gaming industry matures, there is an increasing number of conference events lined up for the region, starting with specialists Terrapinn’s Gaming Executive Summit Latin America in Panama, in February; during the May and November SAGSE events, Yogonet will run Encuentro Ey!; whilst CIJUEGO has conferences in March in Colombia, and June in Peru, with industry samplings on view.

Notwithstanding compounded growth in the industry of 13%, regulators, legislators and governments still treat the industry as backwater traders in need of controversial rules and regulations to encumber operators from Mexico, going through Ecuador and Peru – with a controversial slots online control programme – and touching Chile and Paraguay also.

However, all this is part and parcel of a growing industry, with innocent trials, crass error and gross mistakes as well as a good measure of sensible legislation from the peripheral actors. What is true is that gaming operations are not free from short lived errors, but gross mistakes are taboo because all the edifice operation and investment would go to hell fire and then there would be no budgets for functionaries to rest their fat behinds on comfy seats, or space to publish these few lines. And it is for this reason that we all should protect the gaming operations as if they are the goose that lays the golden eggs. (E-12.23.10)

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