G8 iGaming Summit
G8 iGaming Summit is a conference/convention dedicated to iGaming in all of its forms – online casino, betting sites, video slots, video poker, etc. It will occur in Winchester, Hampshire on July 22-24, 2016, and will feature press conferences and appearances from almost all important figures in the UK iGaming market. Unlike other iGaming conventions, which are primarily meant as business events for making connections, G8’s goals is to provide a fun experience for the players.
What is iGaming
iGaming is a relatively new term coined to describe gaming activities in which real money is placed as a bet (gambled) on the outcome of a game or a sport, with the expectation of a higher return in case of a positive outcome. What distinguishes iGaming from regular gambling, though, is that iGaming is entirely dependent on technology – playing poker among friends in the living room would be gambling, but placing a bet on a football game online would fall under the definition of iGaming. Keep in mind that similar games where betting is not involved (such as casino-themed videogames that require a purchase, but no real bets) do not fall under the definition of iGaming. While electronic gambling, such as video poker machines and video slots, have been around for a while now, the term iGaming didn’t begin to exist until very recently (first coined in the early 2000s) when online casinos first started to become prominent worldwide.
Why is iGaming Important?
We, the organizers of the G8 iGaming Summit, sincerely believe that iGaming is the future of gambling. Casinos, while certainly good for a fun night of casual gambling with friends, aren’t really appropriate for serious gamblers, or for people with busy schedules. On the other hand, online gambling is always available, and with the increasing prominence of mobile gaming and 3G and 4G networks you can play casino games almost anywhere. While the profits accumulated by physical casinos are greater than those made by online ones (according to data from 2014), the gap is quickly closing in and online casinos will most likely soon overtake physical ones. It’s the same situation as with PC gaming – once online platforms such as Steam began appearing that were more convenient and provided cheaper, yet superior services, physical PC games almost stopped existing, and today the vast majority of PC games, and the majority of games in general, are sold digitally. Traditional gaming and iGaming have a lot in common, which is why we believe that iGaming is headed down the same path.