iGEN decries ‘profound damage’ to iGaming reputation after lewd scenes at summit

Responding to the controversial events of last week, where the highly-anticipated SiGMA iGaming summit was largely overshadowed by a number of inappropriate scenes, the iGaming European Network (iGEN), has decried "profound damage" to the industry's reputation.

Issuing a statement on Tuesday, the organisation explained that it welcomed the opportunity to meet, discuss, share and learn from each other, especially in the context of the past two years where events, conferences and summits were restricted to online.

"These events provide valuable opportunities to progress the industry forward in every aspect," it said.

However, having said that, iGEN slammed "the adverse and inappropriate actions of certain exhibitors in the past week," perhaps referring in part to the shocking widely shared video of one exhibitor stripping off before straddling his colleague.

These scenes caused "profound damage" to an industry that has worked hard to build its reputation, iGEN commented.

"iGEN and its members unanimously rebuke such activities in the context of a business-based conference, and strongly encourages iGaming companies to be mindful of the impact such behaviour has on the entire industry," it concluded.

The organisation is not the only one to have criticised the actions of some exhibitors.

Khalid Ali, CEO of the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) took to social media to slam the presence of “pole dancers dressed provocatively” on the exhibition floor.

The executive expressed his particular disappointment, explaining that he had thought that as an industry, iGaming had moved on from scenes of this type. 

“Everyone in our industry has a responsibility in maintaining the highest standards, and that includes event organisers,” he insisted, stating that in the future he would ensure that any partnerships with events organisers would include a decency clause.