Philippines chosen to host ASEAN Gaming Summit in 2023

The ASEAN Gaming Summit will be held in the Philippines in March 2023. The event in Manila will give attendees the opportunity to gain industry insights at an exhibition featuring 11 iGaming companies. The event will be live-streamed, creating a greater level of accessibility to interested parties.

The decision consolidates the position of the Philippines as a serious player in the iGaming industry. The Pearl of the Orient now boasts 51 land-based casinos, more than Macau, the special administrative region of China known as the Vegas of Asia. The iGaming industry in the Philippines has given a boost to the economy through the creation of tens of thousands of positions in the past ten years.

Industry events reflect a burgeoning iGaming industry

The ASEAN Gaming Summit is just one of the iGaming expos raising the profile of the industry in Asia. G2E Asia, an international trade show and iGaming conference focussing on Asia, is benefiting from the involvement of the American Gaming Association and the UK company Reed Exhibitions. Held in Singapore, it will showcase iGaming companies in the region such as the Korean company Kangwon Land, Inc. and Allgame, the Malaysian supplier of live streaming video content. The aim of the event is to introduce attendees to the latest trends, innovations and iGaming solutions.

In another boost to the region, the first Strategic Platform for iGaming Conference & Exhibition (SPiCE) Philippines will be held in October 2022. The event will bring together industry players active in South East Asia and provide an opportunity for networking with operators and professionals in the sector.

The London model of success

The overall aim of these Asian iGaming expos is to elevate the sector to the heights of industry events held in Britain, such as ICE London, the annual iGaming industry event, and Ice Vox, a conference that provides masterclasses in topics such as customer acquisition and searching for the next hugely successful slot game. Both events will be held at ExCeL London in February 2023.

Another industry event being held in London this October is the EGR Operator Awards 2022, which has been dubbed the Oscars of the gambling industry. It awards accolades in a range of categories such as the top casino operator, which is judged on key criteria including growth and commercial success and innovation and differentiation. There are also awards in operator categories such as the award for the best slots operator, which selects the top industry operator based on commercial success and innovation.

These events are particularly useful to newcomers to the industry due to the expertise on offer and the networking opportunities. The UK is a particularly attractive location for startups due to the high level of financing available to new companies.

The growing iGaming sector in Asia

Figures show that Asia would certainly benefit from more of these iGaming industry events. According to Statista, total revenue in the casino games segment in Asia is expected to be almost £1.5 billion this year. Conferences and summits bring together the international big players in the iGaming industry to share insights, innovations and expertise and this would be invaluable as the Asian gambling sector strives to meet increased demand.

Asia would do well to take the UK iGaming industry as a model for success. The United Kingdom has a well-established gambling sector with many of the providers of slots online based in the UK. Three of the major players are based on the Isle of Man: the online gambling software company Microgaming, which is behind the popular progressive slot Mega Moolah, the Skywind Group, the iGaming industry content provider which has a slot game portfolio including Joker’s Luck Deluxe and Big Buffalo Megaways and Red Tiger, the slot development company behind the Joe Exotic and Big Cat Rescue Megaways slots.

Red Tiger has also developed casino games in Asia and there is certainly room for Asia to grow in this regard. Asian nations have been extremely successful in the video game industry and there's every chance that industry events such as the ASEAN Gaming Summit could provide the opportunity for providers in the iGaming industry to learn about the latest innovations, trends and solutions in order to become iGaming specialists in their own right. The Chinese gaming company NetEase has been identified as a company experiencing rapid growth.

Asian nations will be eyeing the tax income from the gambling sectors of the Philippines, Singapore and Macau, three major players in the region. Furthermore, the recent draft proposal put forward by the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry of Japan for the legalisation of sports betting in the Land of the Rising Sun could be an indication that other nations are considering the relaxation of gambling legislation in the near future.

The decision to hold the ASEAN Gaming Summit in the Philippines is a big vote of confidence in the nation’s iGaming sector. The opportunity to share insights and gain knowledge from industry experts could provide the impetus for the iGaming sector in Asia to meet the demands of growth with the sort of innovative products on offer in the United Kingdom.