Last month, the renowned ICE London trade show returned as an in-person event following a two-year pandemic gap, gathering hundreds of attendees at ExCel London, April 12-14. Among exhibitors was gaming certification lab BMM, which was able to catch up with clients and partners at its stand, reconnecting face-to-face.
“Our stand was constantly busy as our team curated our own meeting schedule,” BMM Testlabs’ Jon Stuckey, SVP Business Development, EURSAM; and Andrea Zanettini, Vice President of Land-Based Sales, EURSAM, tell Yogonet in a post-ICE interview. “We are seeing major opportunities in all United States markets, and throughout the rest of the world, too.”
In conversation with Yogonet, the executives discussed the highlights and main takeaways of the trade show, explained which markets present opportunities going forward, and detailed how the company can help partners navigate the changing compliance landscape.
BMM's team at ICE London 2022
The company said before the event it looked forward to having conversations regarding online and casino gaming compliance approvals. How can BMM be of assistance to operators in these fields?
BMM is the longest established and most experienced private independent gaming certification lab in the world. We have been successfully testing and certifying the full scope of Class II, Class III, VLT, AWP, HHR, online/iGaming, sports betting, social, pari-mutuel, and lottery products for over four decades.
Our team is equipped to assist operators’ compliance needs for any gaming product in every gaming market. We discussed several topics with customers at ICE, including PAM evaluations, game evaluations (online and land-based), change management system evaluations (land-based), security assessments, cyber security, quality assurance, and advice for gaming companies wishing to take their products into the United States.
What were BMM’s main objectives for this event, and what would you describe as the main takeaways from the expo? Did the company have the opportunity to participate in some of the panels and activities featured in this edition?
Our main objective was to reconnect face-to-face with our clients, partners, and friends. The motto for ICE London this year was “together never felt so good,” and that was spot on.
Although we did not participate in any panels this year, our team was able to spend quality time fostering relationships established during the pandemic. Our main takeaway was clients telling us that only BMM and GLI can really help them under the North American market properly.
BMM's Andrea Zanettini
What can you tell us in terms of networking opportunities resulting from this event? ICE launched the Hosted Meetings Program this edition. Was the company able to participate in this feature?
We had good results from our networking opportunities at ICE London. Because the largest land-based clients did not attend the exhibition, we were able to spend quality time focusing on building relationships with new contacts in the iGaming vertical.
We are seeing major opportunities in all United States markets, and throughout the rest of the world, too. We did not utilize the Hosted Meetings Program this year, but our stand was constantly busy as our team curated our own meeting schedule.
BMM said it looked forward to meeting emerging companies, given that building relationships early on ensures working together toward a compliant future. Did the company find newcomers to the gaming space keen on learning about compliance?
ICE London successfully hosted many start-up launches, first-time attendees, and new opportunities following the two-year pandemic gap. At its core, BMM is a systems-expert company that has provided consulting for and tested many of the largest gaming networks and systems over the last 40 years. Our reputation, combined with our team of experts, delivers the knowledge, experience, and tools to lead newcomers to create compliant products for gaming markets all over the world.
BMM's Jon Stuckey
In a press release, BMM said it was prepared to educate partners on compliance around the world, “especially the U.S. and Canada now.” Have you seen specific interest for these two markets?
BMM’s mission is to assist clients with entry into new markets all over the world of gaming. The United States and Canadian markets, especially in Ontario, have seen strong growth in a short span of time. We expect this trend to continue as we see more of our customers grow into all markets in North America. Our customers expect professional technical and regulatory compliance services, and we can deliver them.
As the land-based sector bounces back from the pandemic, with casinos now once again operational and seeking to renew their offerings, what are the main inquiries at the time and how is the compliance landscape evolving?
It is heartwarming to see the industry bounce back from the devastation brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. BMM is focusing on all land-based markets and our customer teams are hard at work. Our teams in Italy and Spain are focused on VLT and AWP, while we have many more teams around the world dedicated to Class II and Class III electronic gaming machines, hardware and software evaluations, casino monitoring systems, and much more.
Regulation and compliance were featured in the expo, including masterclasses on compliance, the World Regulatory Briefing and more. What is your take on the space given to these issues within trade events?
We are grateful that regulation and compliance were featured in the convention. It is especially important for start-up companies to have a strong awareness of the regulatory guidelines in various jurisdictions and continue learning from experience.
It is also important for all of us in the gaming industry to have regulator contacts that understand these complexities. Compliance and regulation are essential in the regulated markets, so it is crucial that everyone has exposure to all regulatory trends.
What other industry events does the company plan to attend this year?
Our team will be attending all major events in 2022 across all jurisdictions in that BMM operates. BMM has 14 global locations and serves over 470 global gaming jurisdictions.
Our world headquarters are in Las Vegas (United States), with testlabs and offices in Moncton (Canada), Lima (Peru), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Barcelona (Spain), Bologna (Italy), Ljubljana (Slovenia), Krakow (Poland), Bucharest (Romania), Midrand (South Africa), Melbourne and Sydney (Australia), Macau (SAR, China), and Singapore.
