Eman Pulis: “SiGMA Europe Virtual will be a close version of the real thing”

Exclusive Interview.- SiGMA founder Eman Pulis drops in to talk to Focus Gaming News about the upcoming SiGMA Europe Virtual Expo.

“It’s a bittersweet moment,” Eman Pulis says. Normally at this time, he’d be preparing to welcome people in Malta to what has become one of the biggest events in the iGaming calendar. 

But faced with the upheaval caused by the global pandemic he decided to honour the dates with the Europe Virtual Expo.

The decision has gone down well with over a hundred exhibitors and thousands of subscribers signed up.

“November has truly become synonymous with SiGMA.”

Eman Pulis, founder and CEO at SiGMA.

SiGMA has held virtual events already this year due to the pandemic, but this will be the first fully-fledged expo. Pulis says it is going to be “a close version to the real thing.”

He says: “We’re going to have all our team of 50 on standby making sure they can introduce the right people to each other.

“If they see an operator roaming the floorplan, they’re going to chat to him or her and guide them towards the affiliates, the slot providers, the platform providers.

“We’re going to be there acting as mediators to facilitate as much business as possible.“

As for the next physical version of the event, the dates are slated for February 16 – 18 for now.

A decision will be made by December 20 on whether that’s looking possible, and if it’s not, the event will be put back to March.

A final attempt will be made in April before waiting for next year’s scheduled event in November. 

“Lock, stock and barrel, we’re ready to go,”Pulis says.

“For us it’s only a matter of finding the right time where people can fly in. So if it’s not February, we’re going to have to shift to March and if it’s not March, we’re going to have to shift to April.”

“Covid has proven that expos are here to stay.”

Eman Pulis, founder and CEO at SiGMA.

He notes that there is a sense of virtual expo fatigue setting in – “when it comes to expos like ours, you can’t replace that with a Zoom call,” he notes.

But SiGMA intends to make the virtual expo a permanent complement to the physical event in Malta, with both events taking place simultaneously once the physical events can resume, so those that can’t make it to Malta can still take part. 

Check out the full interview with Eman Pulis on the Focus Gaming News YouTube channel. Don’t forget to subscribe!