In the 10th episode of iGaming Accent, host Vakho Mdivani welcomes a special guest: Nika Gigashvili, Partner and Managing Director at SMH and an integral part of SBC Eurasia. This milestone episode takes listeners behind the scenes of major iGaming events, exploring both the origins of the podcast and the unique dynamics of regional and international industry gatherings.
Nika begins by sharing the story of how SBC Eurasia and the podcast itself came to life.
“It started back in 2016, maybe 2015, when we saw that there was a great company [SBC] which was doing great shows and was very quality and people-focused,” he recalls.
The partnership with SBC grew out of a desire to bridge the gap between global expertise and the evolving Eurasian market. “We decided that we should focus somehow on bringing international knowledge and international expertise to our region. And that was the way to make this decision to launch this amazing podcast as well.”
The conversation then turns to the value of regional versus international events. Nika draws a clear distinction: “Global events are where you are finding the content and the people from all around the world… you can get all the knowledge you need. For the regional ones, it’s more of bringing the well-established market experiences to the region, which is still evolving and still going through its gazillion time changes of the regulations and advertising regulations of technology development, etc.”
Vakho and Nika both agree that regional events offer a unique networking experience. “On every regional event I’ve been to, it’s like more chilled, much more approachable, much more time to discuss, to sit down, to find, let’s say, the great value behind the knowledge that there is,” Vakho notes.
Nika adds: “If you are going to a 30,000 people event, just to find the person and get his 15 minutes is tough… But at the regional events, the first thing you see as a delegate is that you find all those people who are interested in the region. So most of the audience is your target audience.”
The discussion also highlights the rapid growth of regional events, particularly SBC Summit Tbilisi. “We are expecting somewhere 50 percent growth, knowing the availability of people… and hopefully we will overdeliver our expectations as we’ve done for the past two shows.”
Looking ahead, Nika teases exciting things for upcoming events like SBC Summit Lisbon (September 16-18) and SBC Summit Tbilisi (October 15-16), including a legends football match and more opportunities for networking and learning.
“SBC Lisbon is going to be, I would say, the greatest show of the year… On top of that, if you are a fan of football, and I believe that 90% of the industry is, it’s a great chance to see the living legends play.”
He also answered a traditional “blind question” from Routy’s Michael Filletti. Asked about the most important lesson he’s learned in iGaming:
“Don’t be afraid and put in the work. Some people get scared of big projects or new scales, but if you do everything you can and reach out for information, ask questions, and ask for help, you’ll be fine. You can achieve anything.
“I had to challenge myself to the point where I slept for only three to four hours a night for almost two years. And I needed to understand so many things… but it was the most important two years of my life, because that’s when I understood how the business works in general and how the iGaming sector works. And after that, I believe that I’m prepared for anything.”
Nika also posed his own question for the next guest and shared some of the behind-the-scenes challenges of organizing events.
To hear the whole conversation, listen to the complete podcast episode of iGaming Accent.
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